Arizona’s highest-profile races still up for grabs as vote counting continues

Although the results of Arizona’s 2022 elections were not finalized Wednesday, voters made their choices clearer.

The top two marquee races, the race for the U.S. Senate seat, and the governor’s office, were too close to call.

The Associated Press declared five incumbents in congressional elections winners. A handful of ballot propositions were also declared winners by The Associated Press, including one that sought to protect people with medical debts and another that promised to reveal to voters in future elections who paid for incessant TV ads and text messages.

According to the Arizona Secretary-of-State’s Office, there were still over 600,000 ballots to count and process in Arizona at Wednesday’s end. The estimated 340,000 were located in Maricopa County.

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Officials began processing some 275,000 early votes that voters left at polling stations on Election Day in Maricopa County. This includes the Phoenix metro area.

Before they can be counted, those ballots must be signed. Officials stated that the process should be complete by Friday’s end.

Election Day results followed a pattern based on how attitudes towards early voting were affected by partisan affiliations.

Early voters were the ones who released early numbers at 8 p.m. on Election Day. These voters leaned heavily Democratic giving U.S. Senator Mark Kelly a 14 percent advantage over Blake Masters, his Republican challenger.

Similar results were seen for Katie Hobbs, Democratic Arizona secretary-of-state, who was seeking to rise one notch in executive branch to governor. She had a close-10% advantage over Kari Lake, her Republican opponent.

However, the leads shrank when the tallies of votes cast on Election Day were published at 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Masters was within 5 percentage points Kelly’s mark by Wednesday afternoon. Lake was led by Hobbs by a narrow margin.

Wednesday night’s new numbers showed Kelly and Hobbs still leading. Officials from Maricopa County said that more results will be released each day until the tabulations are completed.

Republican state Rep. Mark Finchem was the leading Republican in the race for secretary of state. According to Wednesday night’s results, Fontes had earned the most votes among all Democratic candidates for statewide office.

Finchem was a vocal opponent of the results in the 2020 general election, which saw Joe Biden become Arizona’s first presidential nominee since 1996. Former President Donald Trump supported Finchem in this race because of his stance.

Republican state Rep. Mark Finchem was the leading Republican in the race for secretary of state. According to Wednesday night’s results, Fontes had earned the most votes among all Democratic candidates for statewide office.

Finchem was a vocal opponent of the 2020 general elections results that saw Joe Biden become Arizona’s first presidential nominee since 1996. Former President Donald Trump supported Finchem in this race because of his stance.

All four candidates were within a few percentage points of each other in the race for two Arizona Corporation Commission seats, which regulates utilities. The two Republicans Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers led two Democrats, Sandra Kennedy, the incumbent, and Lauren Kuby, a former Tempe City Councilmember.

Kimberly Yee (the Republican incumbent state treasurer), was facing Democratic state Rep. Martin Quezada. Her lead was greater than any other statewide candidates. As of Wednesday night, she had the most votes of any statewide candidates.

Despite the release of more results, U.S. Rep. David Schweikert was still behind Jevin Hodge in the congressional race.

Eli Crane, a Republican first-time candidate, held a strong lead over Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran.

Juan Ciscomani, a Republican and former adviser to Governor, won an open election in southern Arizona. Although Doug Ducey had taken the lead over Kirsten Engel (Democratic state lawmaker), the race was still close.

U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton declared victory against Kelly Cooper, his Republican opponent. Despite Stanton’s large lead, The Associated Press has yet to call this race.

The AP declared U.S. Reps. Raul Galva and Ruben Galego, both Democrats and Republican U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and Debbie Lesko winners.

Arizona’s legislature appeared to be under Republican control. The Democratic strategy of running only one candidate for key House districts in an attempt to achieve a tie in the chamber seemed to have failed.

Proposition 209 was approved by voters. It would set a 3% interest rate for medical debt. It protects creditors from more debtors’ assets.

Citizens’ initiative to amend campaign disclosure laws was also approved by wide margins. Terry Goddard, the former Attorney General, was pleased with this victory. He had been pushing for the measure for almost a decade. It would require political organisations to disclose their donors.

Arizona voters were almost evenly split on a measure to tighten identification rules for in-person ballots and mail-in ballots. There was a slight advantage for the no votes.

The results revealed that a proposal to allow non-citizens from Arizona who have graduated high school were at a close-even split. It would allow them to pay in-state tuition at the state universities. The yes vote was slightly ahead.

Voters were divided on measures that limited their ability to refer measures for the ballot, an initiative process that state founders deemed vital.

On Wednesday, a measure that required 60% voter approval to tax any initiative was in place.

Voters were set to reject the Legislature’s ability to amend an Initiative if it was rescinded by a federal or state court.

The governor was comfortable in leading a measure to create the post of lieutenant governor in Arizona. This position would allow for a second-in-line person to run alongside the governor. The governor’s seat is currently held by Arizona’s secretary-of-state, which has been a frequent occurrence in Arizona’s past.

Votes continued to trickle into Arizona from all directions. The state’s most populous area, Maricopa County, had the highest number of uncounted ballots.

Officials had to deal with unprecedented numbers of ballots that were sent by mail and returned in person on Election Day.

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