PHOENIX — Arizona commenced early in-person voting on Wednesday, becoming the first of the key swing states in this presidential election year where residents can participate at traditional polling locations ahead of the official Election Day.
Arizona’s Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes, visited a voting center located in suburban Phoenix and urged citizens to take advantage of early voting, particularly in a year when many counties are presenting voters with ballots that span two pages.
“Voting early not only helps you cast your vote more conveniently but also aids us in generating earlier results,” Fontes explained outside Surprise City Hall. “If late results are a source of frustration, I encourage you to vote early and help mitigate that issue.”
At the same location, Cathy Koukal expressed her enthusiasm for voting early, sharing that she had just cast her ballot in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris due to her policies, voicing her desire to see former President Donald Trump defeated.
“We have been aware of Trump’s actions for quite some time, and it’s simply time for him to go,” remarked Koukal, a 72-year-old retiree from New York.
Across the center, Frank Spencer, aged 77, stated that he voted for Trump as he had in the previous two electoral cycles, despite being a registered Democrat. He believes that Trump could help solve current issues facing the nation.
“Harris and Biden are responsible for the predicament we are in,” Spencer said, sharing that he doesn’t typically vote along strict party lines but found himself supporting more Republican candidates this election. He noted that while Trump was in office, “we had no wars, and regardless of differing opinions, I felt we were more respected on the global stage.”
The start of in-person voting coincides with campaign activities by both major candidates. Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, are participating in separate campaign events in Tucson this Wednesday.
Additionally, Harris is poised to host a rally in Phoenix on Thursday, while Trump’s campaign is scheduled to conduct an event in Prescott Valley, a strongly Republican area situated approximately 90 miles north of Phoenix, on Sunday.
In the highly contested 2020 election, President Joe Biden narrowly defeated Trump by just over 10,000 votes, a tight margin that has fueled ongoing misinformation and conspiracy theories among some Republicans who refuse to concede Biden’s victory. This climate has resulted in threats and harassment directed at election officials, necessitating enhanced security measures for polling sites and election workers.
In Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix, several schools have opted against serving as polling sites due to the harassment of staff and other safety considerations.
Early voting, especially through mail-in ballots, has traditionally been favored in Arizona, with approximately 80% of voters casting their votes ahead of Election Day in 2020, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Each of Arizona’s 15 counties is mandated to open at least one in-person voting location, which will remain operational until the Friday preceding the general election on November 5. In Maricopa County alone, a dozen voting centers can be found throughout the metro Phoenix area.
As of late July, Arizona reported approximately 4.1 million registered voters, a figure that is likely to have increased as both political parties have been actively promoting voter registration ahead of Monday’s cutoff.
Early in-person voting has already been underway in a few other states for weeks, with four additional pivotal presidential battlegrounds—Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Nevada—set to begin early voting next week.
