How Long Will Vote Counting Take In Arizona: Presidential Race

ARIZONA — The vote count was still ongoing in Arizona Wednesday, hours after polls closed in the Nov.3 general election — the culmination of days of early and absentee voting.

Fox News and the Associated Press have both projected Democratic challenger Joe Biden to win Arizona and its 11 Electoral College votes in the early hours of Wednesday morning, but votes are still being counted and the final tally likely won't be done for days. President Donald Trump won Arizona in 2016 over Hillary Clinton.

In Arizona, mail-in ballots are allowed to be counted ahead of Election Day but county recorders were not able to release any data until 8 p.m. — an hours after the polls close. Additionally, not all of the ballots can be counted until every voter has had the chance to correct the signatures on their ballots so they can be properly verified. Voters have five days to do so, which means that all ballots won't be counted until Nov. 10.

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Ballots had to be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. Those in line when the polls closed were able to cast their ballots, with many lines forming Tuesday night throughout the state.

The first release of unofficial election results at 8 p.m. on Election Night only included early ballots, according to Maricopa County Recorder's Office spokesperson Megan Gilbertson. Election Day ballots are tabulated in each Vote Center and were reported throughout the night. Starting on Nov. 4, the county will post updated unofficial results each day at 7 p.m. until all ballots are counted. As of 9 a.m., mail-in ballots and any dropped off at voting centers on Election Day were still being counted.

If it's a tight race, we likely won't know the official winner for a few days. Estimates from The New York Times and others show that 86 percent of the expected vote in Arizona is in.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs previously warned that the election likely won't be over on Nov. 3.

“As much as we all want to see the winner on election night in those races, it’s just not going to happen. Elections are complicated,” Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said during an Oct. 14 news conference.