Voters hit the polls for Arizona presidential preference election

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By Donovan Growney and Vanessa Pimentel
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes encouraged voters Tuesday to participate in the state’s 2024 presidential preference election, despite the parties’ nominees being all but decided.

Starting at 6 a.m., the polls opened for Arizonans to vote for who they want the presidential nominee to be for their respective parties. While President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are the presumptive nominees for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, several candidates in each party were still listed on the ballots.

The polls will close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, with the first results set to be released about 8 p.m. But Arizona’s final official results likely will not be posted some time in the next week, according to Fontes, to ensure that any signature verification issues could be resolved for mail-in ballots that get dropped off Tuesday.

“Let’s say somebody broke their arm, or they’re suffering perhaps from Parkinson’s or something like that, we have to get those signatures cured to verify that that voter actually voted that ballot before we can open the envelope and tabulate that ballot,” Fontes said at a news conference at the Capitol.

“Curing” is a process in which a state allows a voter to fix a mistake or discrepancy in their mail-in ballot.

Democratic Party chair stumps for Biden at Burton Barr

As the sun began to rise, the Burton Barr Central Library in central Phoenix was ready to welcome Arizona voters, but none were in line at 6:30 a.m.

Yolanda Bejarano, chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, was there and spoke of her confidence in Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee and the significance of the Latino vote in Arizona.

“For a presidential preference election, the turnout is not going to be as high as the election in November, and that’s just the way it is. But, we want people to come out, make your voice heard. We want a strong showing for President Biden, he’s our nominee, he’s going to be our nominee,” Bejarano said.

Republican Kari Lake votes at GCU

Kari Lake is a Republican candidate in the 2024 U.S. Senate election in Arizona and arrived at Grand Canyon University at 10 a.m. to cast her ballot in the presidential preference election. Lake is a long-time Trump supporter.

“Get out and vote,” Lake said. “We know that President Trump is the nominee, but go out and vote. Show your support for him. He’s been such an incredible fighter for this country. He’s done so much for all Americans, and we need to get him back in the White House.”

Following Lake’s remarks, Democratic voter Roy Rodriguez walked out of GCU’s voting location. Rodriguez was grateful that he lives in the U.S. and can make his voice heard for Biden.

“I hope they (Arizonans) come out here and vote because a lot of people died for our country and died for the American flag,” Rodriguez said. “That’s very important, and I’m happy that they should have the right to come out here and vote. Everybody has that right, regardless if you’re a Democrat or a Republican or an independent.”

Madison Church in Phoenix welcomes voters

At Madison Church in Phoenix, Denise Johnson walked out with an “I Voted!” sticker on her green jacket.

“This is the first time that we voted in Arizona; we’re new to the state,” Johnson said of her and her husband. “We came from Pennsylvania, so I carry with me my very open mind. … There’s definitely more two-sided camps here than what I was accustomed to in Philadelphia, but that’s great. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and we are just happy to be able to represent our beliefs here as well.”

Vicki Alexander also voted at Madison Church. Alexander had worries about the absence of voters and what that would mean for the November election.

“Our country is going in a bad direction. I’m very concerned about it. I’m concerned about the future of our nation because what we do here affects the whole world. It’s the only thing I can do to help make it better, besides pray,” Alexander said.