IN FOCUS - Oct. 30, 2026

Spooky!

It’s the Friday before Election Day and, with over 1.5  million Arizona ballots already returned, nearly 45% of all voters have already cast their ballot. That number includes more than 930,000 ballots returned in Maricopa County alone.

Statewide, registered Republicans have returned roughly .5% more ballots than Democrats, an edge that has been shrinking in recent days. Approximately 9,500 more Republicans than Democrats have returned their ballots, as of Friday. 

The ballot returns are interesting, but use caution when interpreting them. 

Voters don’t equal votes - we won’t know until next week how many of these Republicans and Democrats are actually voting partyline. We also don’t know whether voter behavior from the last two cycles - when Republicans preferred to vote in-person or drop off ballots on Election Day - will hold true this year.

Lastly, about 380,000 Arizona ballots thus far have been returned by independent, “Party Not Declared” voters. We don’t yet know how those ballots will trend, though recent polling suggests they will swing left.

If you have an early ballot that you haven’t mailed yet, don’t. Drop it at a polling location or vote in-person. Polls will be open Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Vote.