Arizona processes one of the largest vote-by-mail populations in the country. Ballots dropped off on election day still need signature verification and curing before they can be tabulated, a process that can extend the count well past election night.
Prop 144 does not remove any of those safeguards. It adds a choice: a voter who wants their ballot counted on election night can hand it to a tabulator on-site and watch it count.
The measure is procedural, not partisan. It sets a timeline Arizona can plan around. In 2024, an estimated 264,554 early ballots, approximately 7.7% of all ballots cast statewide, were returned at polling locations on election day, and Arizona's results were not officially certified until 20 days after election day.
