By Arizona Republic (summary)
Election workers were still digging into a mountain of ballots Thursday — more than 600,000 statewide, according to a tracker posted by the Arizona secretary of state.
The highest-profile offices on the ballot, from U.S. senator to go ` ernor to other key statewide positions, remained too close to call. Results from around the state will continue to be posted throughout the day.
Maricopa County, the most populous county in the state, is expected to release a major update of results Thursday evening.
1:10 p.m.: Possible runoff elections for Phoenix City Council seats
Competitive contests for two Phoenix City Council seats were too close to call and could lead to runoff elections.
Half of the city’s eight council seats were on the ballot, but the race to represent District 8 in south Phoen ix and District 6 in Arcadia, the Biltmore area and parts of north-central Phoenix are the most competitive.
District 8 incumbent Carlos Garcia was in a dead heat with challenger Kesha Hodge Washington.
Kevin Robinson narrowly pulled ahead in the open field of eight candidates vying to replace termed-out Sal DiCiccio in District 6. Trailing by a small margin behind Robinson were Joan Greene and Sam Stone.
If the returns hold, the two top candidates in both races will head to a runoff in March. Runoffs occur when no single candidate gets more than 50% of the vote.
— Taylor Seely
11:30 a.m.: New leader in Peoria mayor race
Businessman Jason Beck took a slim lead in the race for Peoria mayor Wednesday after all mail-in and same-day ballots were counted.
He is running against longtime Peoria Councilmember Bridget Binsbacher.
Beck trailed Binsbacher in the first rounds of results but pulled ahead at about 1:30 a.m. when a flood of same-day votes were released by Maricopa County elections officials.
At his campaign’s election night party, Beck said he was confident that later results would push him ahead.
“There is not a single thing left on the table for us to do, we worked as hard as we could,” Beck said, joking that he had worn through three pairs of shoes knocking on doors to gather support.
For the council races, challenger Jennifer Crawford narrowly pulled ahead of incumbent Vicki Hunt in the race for the council seat for the Acacia District in south Peoria. Incumbent Brad Shafer led challenger Diane Douglas for the council seat in north Peoria’s Mesquite District.
— Taylor Seely and Corina Vanek
Maricopa County ballot hand count starts Saturday
Ballots are run at Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC) on Nov. 9 in Phoenix, Ariz.
The hand count of certain races and ballots in Maricopa County will begin Saturday.
Republican, Democratic and Libertarian party chairs drew which races and ballots will be reviewed Wednesday night.
This is an important step in ensuring the accuracy of the 2022 General Election results, according to Maricopa County.
On Election Day, about 30% of Maricopa’s polling places experienced widespread issues involving printers and the machines that count voters’ ballots.
Cochise County officials were proceeding with a hand count of every ballot cast in Tuesday’s election, despite a court ruling that bars them from doing so.
Its Board of Supervisors on Wednesday authorized its attorney to appeal that ruling to the Arizona Supreme Court, complicating the timeline for when — or if — the controversial count would actually happen.
— Catherine Reagor and Mary Jo Pitzl
