Maricopa County officials stress Election Day readiness

(The Center Square) – Officials in Arizona's most populous county say they're ready for whatever obstacles arise as roughly a half-million Maricopa County voters head to the polls on Election Day.

That was stressed during a news conference Monday at the Maricopa County Administration building, where Board of Supervisors Chair Kate Brophy McGee and Deputy Elections Director Jennifer Liewer talked to reporters.

During the Phoenix news conference, Liewer said just over 1,050,000 ballots - or 40% of the county's 2.5 million registered voters - had already been cast, with roughly 950,000 of them being counted, as of Monday.

Liewer said the county expects the quarter-of-a-million Election Day voters to spread out Tuesday across 254 voting locations, up 13.9% from the 223 locations that were in place two years ago.

Liewer projects that there will be roughly the same number of county residents - 250,000, give or take - who will either vote at one of those locations or drop off their early ballots at one.

A new option at county voters' disposal is to take their early ballots to a polling site and have them tabulated right there and then, if they have a valid government-issued ID on them.

While Liewer said the county isn't sure how many voters will choose the new option on Tuesday, she did say that 23,000 people did just that during the Democratic and Republican primaries this summer.

"You can go to any vote center you'd like," Liewer said. "If you work in Glendale, but you live in Mesa, you're able to go vote on your lunch hour in Glendale, and we will print up that ballot that is for you in Mesa with your precincts and your races."

Liewer said the day-of option allows county voters to have added confidence in their electoral system, as they can pick and choose the polling sites that have the shortest wait times on the county's website and get their ballots knocked out quicker.

"Typically, we see our highest numbers after work, so if you have the opportunity to go during the day, you might be able to avoid some of the lines that could happen," she said.

Zach Schira, the assistant county manager, told reporters that the county is expecting to release at 8 p.m. Tuesday the results from all mail-in ballots that were received by Saturday. That's one hour after polls close in the general election.

From there, the county will drop all ballots received through Sunday later in the evening, with results from Monday's final day of early voting and Tuesday's day-of ballots being announced on Wednesday.

Schira said the county has invested in extra elections staff and tabulators to smooth out the process, with 10 to 15% of the ballots being cast or dropped off at a polling site on Tuesday.

"As a reminder, election results are never final on election night," Schira said. "We will have to be counting ballots throughout the week this week, and it is always good to remember that it's the media who calls races, not the county elections department."

Frank McWilliams, director of emergency management security services for the county, said his office is ready to work with law enforcement to ensure a safe experience for all voters come Tuesday.

"We spent the last year planning for this election, and we are ready," McWilliams said. "I'm grateful to all the men and women in law enforcement and all the security personnel for their efforts up to this point, and who will be working on Election Day and the days after, ensuring the safety and security of everyone involved in this election."

McWilliams didn't mince words in response to a question from a Telemundo reporter about what he'd say to those in the Latino community who fear the Trump administration will deploy federal immigration officers to polling stations across the country. McWilliams said officers will ensure everyone can cast their ballots safely.

"Law enforcement will be throughout the community, but it's our goal that voters, poll workers and others don't recognize that we're out and about throughout the community," McWilliams said. "We'll be able to respond appropriately if there's an issue, but we will not have uniformed armed personnel at polling sites visible that may disenfranchise some voters."