Timeline for Arizona’s general election on November 8

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - The general primary election is on November 8 and important deadlines are approaching for voters.

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General Election Timeline

OCTOBER 11: Voter Registration Deadline

OCTOBER 12: First day for counties to mail ballots to voters and the first day of in-person early voting. Maricopa County Election officials expect to mail out 1.5M ballots to voters on the active early voting list or those who signed up via a one-time request. Ten voting centers will open on this day.

OCTOBER 21: Sample ballots will be sent out to non-early voters. However, voters don’t need to wait. They can go to beballotready.vote and can download a sample ballot.

OCTOBER 24: Tabulation begins on mail-in ballots. The Maricopa County Elections office hopes to have all the early ballots received by November 5 counted in time for the first results that come down at 8 p.m. on election day.

OCTOBER 28: Last day to sign up for the active early voting list (AEVL) or to request a one-time ballot by mail. Additional voting centers open.

OCTOBER 29: Saturday in-person early voting available.

NOVEMBER 1: Recommended deadline to mail back your ballot. However, postmarks are irrelevant. Your ballot must make it to your county recorder’s office by 7 p.m. on election day for it to be counted.

NOVEMBER 4, 5 & 7: Emergency early voting begins Friday, November 4th at 5 p.m. and continues on Saturday and Monday at open voting centers. If you vote in person on these days, you must present an ID and sign a statement that states you are experiencing or have experienced an emergency that would prevent you from voting on election day, Nov. 8.

NOVEMBER 8: Election day. It’s also the last day to drop off mail-in ballots. Mail-in ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on this day. Therefore, if you mailed your ballot on election day, it wouldn’t make it in time.

NOVEMBER 9: The “late earlies” will be counted. The “late earlies” are the early ballots received on November 7 and 8. Election workers will work overnight after the election to verify signatures, then the ballots will be sent to the tabulation room for counting. This is why “late earlies” aren’t included in the results on election night. The Maricopa County Elections Department estimates that it may have as many as 200,000 early ballots dropped off on election day. These are considered “late earlies.”

NOVEMBER 9: Post-election audits, including hand count audits, will begin on this day.

NOVEMBER 11: Maricopa County Elections officials expect to have 98%-99% of all votes counted by this day.

NOVEMBER 16: Under state law, voters whose signatures need additional verification have until November 16 to “cure” their signature. Voters who didn’t provide sufficient ID at the polls also have until that date to show their identity.

NOVEMBER 28: Deadline for board approval of Canvass.

DECEMBER 5: Deadline for Governor’s approval of the state Canvass where the governor, attorney general and secretary of state will sign off on the election results.