According to interviews and documents obtained by The Washington Post, if the presidential election in Arizona is close, a newly-enacted state statute will require a ballot count, which will likely cause the state not to meet crucial deadlines to certify the vote. Arizona was the focus of President Donald Trump’s and his allies’ attempts to influence the outcome in the 2020 election. Many Republican primary voters continue to be focused on election denial, a movement that is stoked and promoted by Trump and other people who refuse to accept results. Any delay in counting the votes in Arizona could lead to chaos. The state is considered a battleground and will play a key role in the next presidential elections. In a letter sent to the Arizona Association of Counties and County Supervisors Association of Arizona on Sept. 11, an organization representing all 15 counties in the state wrote that the new laws — passed following President Biden’s narrow victory in Arizona in 2020 – would “put in danger” the immovable deadlines of the election calendar. This includes those which are part of electoral college and those which confirm the results of the August primaries in order for general election ballots to be mailed out to overseas and military voters. More than half a dozen officials from the Arizona Association of Counties and County Supervisors Association told The Post that in a worst-case scenario Arizona could delay crucial steps for a sitting president. Voting administrators, their attorneys and the organizations who represent them have demanded immediate solutions from Arizona Governor. Katie Hobbs (D), and the leaders of the GOP-controlled state legislature. One of the major proposals would be to move Arizona’s primaries earlier in summer. Another idea to buy time for the general election is to speed up the proofreading and allow local officials to transmit results more quickly to the state. Kent Volkmer, an attorney for Pinal County in southeast Phoenix, one of the most conservative parts of the state, said that the entire United States will have to wait on us. Sam Elters, county manager for Mohave County in northern Arizona and a conservative region, told the Arizona Republic that “the entire American public will be waiting” on Arizona. Elters stated that “not meeting the deadlines could have very significant implications for the state’s capability to certify election results locally and nationally.” Alarm has been raised among election officials by a confluence factors. Republican and Democratic legislators proposed a measure to boost confidence in the electoral outcome after Trump’s razor thin loss in 2020. This ushered attacks on what was once an obscure management of elections. The measure reduced the threshold for automatic recounts, which can be triggered in certain races including legislative and statewide ones. County officials warned at the time that the proposal could increase the number contests requiring time-intensive recounts. The county officials also warned that the measure would make it more difficult to meet deadlines for primary and general election. Because the law was not implemented until 2022, the implications of this bipartisan legislation haven’t been fully tested over a full electoral cycle. In the past, Arizona recounts were rare. The new law and the competitiveness of Arizona led to at least three recounts in November last year — one for an open legislative seat in a district that could swing, two for statewide office, including the race for attorney general, which was decided by only 280 votes. According to election officials, based on this experience and a projection of a higher voter turnout in the presidential cycle, it is estimated that the recounting of ballots will take three weeks during the primary election in August. Officials said it could be even longer before the 2024 general elections to recount the votes. This is because the deadlines for releasing certificates of ascertainment for presidential electors and the meeting of the electors for voting for presidents and vice presidents are fast approaching. Jennifer Marson is the executive director of Arizona Association of Counties which advocates for counties. She said that it was unclear what would occur if the state missed two crucial dates, which are part of a presidential certification process. These include the December 17, 2024 vote of electors, which helps determine the electoral college winner. Marson stated that if we miss the deadline, “we are in uncharted terrain.” To my knowledge, this deadline has never ever been missed by a state. This would need to be done after the primary while also preparing for the general election. Scott Jarrett, elections director of Maricopa County, Arizona’s largest, and president of Election Officials of Arizona (which represents election officials from all 15 counties) wrote to two organizations representing the counties of Arizona that this situation would “introduce opportunities for errors and inaccurate results.” Federal and state laws set strict timelines that include everything from printing ballots and inserting them into envelopes to mailing ballots 45 days prior to the election, or September 21, 2024. The problem is illustrated by color-coded calendars that simulate the scenario. Primary-election recounts overlap with deadlines before — and even after — the general elections. According to the National Archives timeline of events, one version of the calendar estimated that counties would start transmitting results to Arizona’s secretary of state by Dec. 16, 2024. This is a day prior to electors being required to gather to vote for president and vice-president. This version estimates that the results of Arizona’s recounts will be available by Dec. 28, 2020. Officials are trying to find ways to add extra time for the anticipated recounts. The state is considering moving up certain dates and reducing the time required to complete them. The options to buy time are moving the primary election date to an earlier summer date, reducing the days required to proofread the ballots, and ensuring courts can order recounts on weekends.