Boxes of uncounted early ballots are shown in this photo distributed by the Pima County Recorder's office on Oct. 16, 2020.
With counting underway, nearly 180,000 early ballots had been counted in Pima County by Friday morning, according to local election officials.
An additional 50,000 ballots were also waiting for verification before being counted. Ballots are sent to the Elections Department by the Recorder’s Office after signatures are verified. Counties can county early ballots two weeks before Election Day.
More than 500,000 early ballots were mailed out in Pima County, but election officials are not concerned about counting capacity.
“It looks like we are getting approximately 30-35,000 per day. We are able to count 50-60,000 per day once they’ve gone through the verification process,” said Brad Nelson, Pima County Election director.
Nelson said he expects that thousands of early ballots will be turned in on Election Day. Those ballots will not be counted until their signatures are verified.
Even though counting is underway, the results will not be released until after the polls close on Election Day.
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