(The Center Square) – Tuesday is the presidential preference election in Arizona.
Registered Democratic and Republican voters in the state can vote in person at a polling location if they are in line by 7 p.m., which is when polls close. A voter can also drop off their early ballot that was mailed to them if they did not mail it in time.
“This is a critical battleground state, so we want to make sure folks understand what’s happening,” Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said at a news conference on Tuesday morning.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both have the delegate numbers necessary to be considered the presumptive nominees for their parties, making the impact of Arizona’s primary results fairly minimal. Fontes said this is essentially a choosing of delegates for the national conventions.
Biden is arriving in Phoenix on Tuesday night to hold events, including one touting the CHIPs Act, which is meant to boost the semiconductor industry. Recent polling from February and March consistently shows Trump a few points ahead of Biden in the Grand Canyon State, according to FiveThirtyEight. Trump won the state in 2016 but narrowly lost it to Biden in 2020. Trump and supporters have refuted the loss.
Supporters of both candidates see this as an opportunity to show their support even though they are both likely the winners.
“Get out and vote,” Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake said after casting her ballot for Trump at a Grand Canyon University polling place on Tuesday morning.
There are no other statewide races on the ballot in Arizona on Tuesday, as the primary election for other races is July 30. On that ballot, voters will be able to vote for party nominees in various races, including U.S. Senate and state legislators.
The first results will drop statewide at 8 p.m., which is expected to mostly be comprised of early ballots, according to Fontes.
