Maricopa County Certifies Primary, Clearing Way for Recount in Tight 3rd District Race

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors certified the 2024 primary election results on Monday morning, a step that allows a recount to move forward in Arizona's 3rd Congressional District.

Board members described the election as a success. They said the longest wait time for any voter was three minutes, and that final results were released faster than in any of the previous 20 elections. Even so, the meeting included public suspicion of fraud, something that has become common at such meetings since 2020.

Supervisor Thomas Galvin lost his patience with one speaker, Barbara Hiatt, whose husband lost the primary for Maricopa County Recorder. She had said she had more faith in elections in the Middle East and Russia than in Arizona. Galvin called the comparison "a joke" and told her to "have fun voting in Russia."

The recount applies to the Democratic primary in the 3rd District, where former Phoenix City Council member Yassamin Ansari leads former state lawmaker Raquel Terán by 42 votes. That margin is under half a percentage point, the threshold that triggers a recount under Arizona law. Secretary of State Adrian Fontes confirmed the need for it and petitioned the Maricopa County Superior Court for authorization. Judge Jennifer Ryan-Touhill ordered the recount and set an Aug. 20 hearing to announce the results. Fontes estimated the process would finish by Aug. 19 if it starts Tuesday as planned. He is scheduled to certify the statewide results on Thursday.

In the race, 301 voters "over-voted," marking more than one candidate. Had they filled out their ballots correctly, the contest might not have required a recount, or the outcome could have flipped to Terán. Maricopa County Elections Director Scott Jarrett told the supervisors that over-voters are a small minority and not an alarming percentage.

The winner will face Republican Jeff Zink in November. The district leans Democratic and covers parts of Phoenix. The seat opened up when U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego chose to run for the U.S. Senate, where he will face Republican Kari Lake.

Canvassing election results was once a dull, routine task of government in Arizona. Since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the state in 2020, election conspiracies have spread and at times slowed the process. This year, certification has mostly gone smoothly, with most of the state's 15 counties approving results without issue.

In Pinal County, the all-Republican board certified the results after Supervisor Kevin Cavanaugh alleged inconsistent voting patterns in his unsuccessful run for sheriff and in a few other countywide races. County Recorder Dana Lewis said his own statistics did not support each claimed anomaly. Some colleagues dismissed the claims as a "clown show," and Chairman Mike Goodman banged his gavel nearly 30 times during a heated exchange. Cavanaugh ultimately voted to approve the results "under duress." He had earlier filed a complaint with the attorney general's office, which confirmed receipt Monday but would not say whether it would investigate.

In Cochise County, a Republican stronghold on the border that was roiled after the 2022 midterms by election denialism and failed calls for a full hand count, the board certified the primary without drama on Friday. Elsewhere, officials confirmed successful canvasses, with a scattering of automatic recounts, including county supervisor races decided by just three votes in La Paz and Yuma counties.