PHOENIX (AP) — Early in-person voting begins Wednesday in Arizona, making it the first of this year’s presidential battleground states where all residents can cast ballots at a traditional polling place ahead of Election Day.
The start of in-person voting in the hotly contested state is also leading to the presidential ticket drawing, with both campaigns planning visits this week.
Wednesday’s vote overlaps with the campaign stops of both vice presidential candidates — Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio — who will hold separate events in Tucson on Wednesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, will host a rally in Phoenix on Thursday, while former President Donald Trump will hold a rally on Sunday in Prescott Valley, a Republican stronghold about 90 miles (144 kilometers) north of Phoenix.
President Joe Biden defeated Trump by just 10,457 votes in 2020, a slim margin that led to years of misinformation and conspiracy theories among Republicans who refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory. It has also led to threats and intimidation of election workers, prompting some election offices to increase security for their employees and poll workers.
In Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, some schools have refused to serve as polling places, citing employee harassment and other safety concerns.
Early voting, especially by mail, has long been popular in Arizona, where nearly 80% voted before Election Day in 2020, according to the secretary of state’s office.
Each of Arizona’s 15 counties is required to open at least one location for in-person voting, which runs until the Friday before the Nov. 5 general election. Maricopa County has about a dozen voting centers spread throughout metro Phoenix.
Arizona had 4.1 million registered voters at the end of July, according to the secretary of state’s most recent count. That figure is likely higher as both parties pushed to increase registrations before Monday’s deadline.
Other states have been talking about early in-person voting for a few weeks. It starts next week in four more presidential swing states: Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Nevada.
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Gabriel Sandoval is a staff member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
