O’Halleran headed for defeat
By Ronald J. Hansen || Arizona Republic
As expected, the outcome of Arizona’s top races remained unclear early Wednesday, but there were a few lessons that both parties will be rehashing as voting ended.
Here are some of the things that stand out as the slog of vote-counting continues.
Election complaints won’t go away
Maricopa County election officials spent the past two years on the hot seat over the fairness and accuracy of the 2020 presidential election.
That kind of unwanted attention seems unlikely to fade away anytime soon after widespread Election Day problems with tabulation machines affecting an estimated 30% of the county’s voting centers.
So far, county officials maintain the problems didn’t result in actual harm to voters, but the situation did create bottlenecks that led to an emergency lawsuit by Republicans seeking to extend polling hours.
That suit failed, but the drama around properly tallying votes seems likely to linger as a source of conspiracies and grievances, especially if Republican candidates fall short of the red wave that many expected.
No violence marring the day
Even though Republicans remained on edge about the outcome of the elections and the administration of it all, there were no unruly crowds, as happened in 2020.
That may be because Republicans still are expected to see favorable tallies as Election Day ballots continue to be counted. And it can’t hurt that law enforcement and judges have signaled their concerns over politically inspired violence and voter intimidation in the final days of the campaigns.
Outside the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center on late Tuesday, there were more reporters than protesters, a marked shift from the raucous crowds that gathered in 2020.
Arizona’s top races remain unsettled, but the public seems to have passed an important initial hurdle.
What’s left:Major races in Arizona that don’t yet have a winner
Some Republicans bailed on Masters, Finchem
