You’ve seen the map. It’s two in the morning on the East Coast, the presidential winner might already be projected in forty states, but out West, the desert remains a stubborn, uncolored blob of "too close to call." Honestly, it feels like a glitch in the matrix. Why are Nevada and Arizona taking so long? If Florida can count millions of ballots by the time you finish dinner, why does Maricopa County or Clark County need a week to tell us who won?
It’s not incompetence. It’s actually by design.
The reality is that Nevada and Arizona have some of the most complex, voter-friendly laws in the country. These laws prioritize "access" over "speed." When you combine high-volume mail-in voting with strict security protocols and razor-thin margins, you get a recipe for a slow-motion reveal.
The Maricopa Logjam and the Two-Page Nightmare
Arizona, specifically Maricopa County (the fourth largest in the U.S.), is often the primary culprit for the wait. In the 2024 election, things got even weirder because of the physical ballot. For the first time in nearly two decades, voters had to deal with a two-page ballot.
Think about the physics of that for a second.
Election workers have to manually open an envelope, remove two separate sheets of paper, flatten them out (because they’ve been folded for days), and check for damage. According to Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, this literally doubled the processing time. When you have hundreds of thousands of "early-late" ballots—those early ballots people hold onto and drop off at the polls on Election Day—the backlog becomes a mountain.
In Arizona, those "early-lates" are a huge deal. In 2022, about a fifth of all votes in Maricopa were dropped off on the final day. These can't be processed until after the polls close because the workers are busy running the in-person voting sites.
Signature Verification is the Real Speed Bump
One of the biggest reasons why Nevada and Arizona are taking so long is signature verification. It's a meticulous, human-led process.
Every single mail-in ballot envelope has a signature on the outside. That signature must be compared against a database of previous signatures (from the MVD or old registration forms). If it doesn't match? The ballot doesn't just get tossed. Under A.R.S. § 16-552, officials have to contact the voter to "cure" it.
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- Arizona allows a five-day curing period after the election.
- Nevada has similar protections, ensuring that a messy signature doesn't disenfranchise a legitimate voter.
This "curing" process is great for democracy but terrible for anyone wanting results by midnight. You’re essentially waiting for thousands of people to answer their phones or emails and prove they are who they say they are.
Nevada’s Postmark Rule: The Ghost Ballots
Nevada does things a bit differently than Arizona. In the Silver State, a ballot is valid as long as it is postmarked by Election Day.
Under NRS 293.317, the state accepts these mail ballots for up to four days after the election.
So, if you’re wondering why the numbers keep shifting on Friday or Saturday, it’s because the mail is still literally arriving. While states like Florida require all ballots to be in-hand by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nevada allows the postal service to play its part. This ensures that a delay in the mail doesn't kill your vote, but it also means the "final" count is a moving target for nearly a week.
The "Swing State" Magnifier
Basically, the delay feels worse because the margins are so tiny.
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In a deep red or deep blue state, news networks can "call" the race with only 30% of the vote counted because the math makes a comeback impossible. But in the desert, where races are decided by 0.5% or less, you can't guess.
The media has to wait until the "mathematical ceiling" for the trailing candidate is gone. In Arizona, the law actually forbids counties from even finalizing results until at least six days after the election (November 11th for the 2024 cycle). The Secretary of State doesn't officially canvass the results until late November.
What Most People Get Wrong
There is a popular myth that "counting late" means "finding votes." That’s just not how the logistics work.
In states like Florida, they start processing (opening and verifying) mail-in ballots weeks before Election Day. In Nevada and Arizona, the sheer volume of "late-arriving" mail and the "early-lates" dropped off at the finish line creates a bottleneck. It’s not that they are finding new ballots; it’s that they are finally getting to the bottom of the pile that was handed to them at 6:59 p.m. on Tuesday.
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Actionable Next Steps for Following the Count:
If you want to track these results without losing your mind, here is how to handle the "wait":
- Check the "Remaining" Estimate: Look for the "Estimated Ballots Remaining" figure rather than just the percentage of precincts reporting. In Maricopa, a "precinct" might be 100% reported for in-person voting but still have 200,000 mail-in ballots sitting in a tray.
- Watch the "Drop" Times: Counties usually announce ahead of time when they will release their next batch of data (often in the evening).
- Verify Curing Status: If you live in these states and voted by mail, check your state’s voter portal (like my.arizona.vote) to ensure your signature was accepted. If not, you only have a few days to fix it.
The desert moves slow. Whether it’s the heat or the bureaucracy, patience is the only way through. The system isn't broken; it's just doing exactly what the state legislatures told it to do: count every single piece of paper, no matter how long the line is.