Arizona voters have their final chance to cast their ballots today.
But by Election Day, many voters will have already cast their ballots by mail, through drop boxes or at early voting locations.
That means preliminary results could begin rolling in shortly after polls close at 7 p.m.
The first batch will include most of the ballots submitted early, offering an initial picture of how races are shaping up.
Still, full results are likely to take days longer as officials continue verifying and counting ballots, including those submitted on Election Day.
Here's what Arizona voters need to know about election night and what happens between the first results and the final count.
When will we see results from election?
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You can expect to see the first batch of general election results about an hour after the polls close Nov. 3, with more to follow throughout the night. That first round will include most of those previously submitted ballots.
But full results are likely to take days. State law gives county election officials about two weeks to wrap up counting.
How does ballot counting work in Arizona?
When you cast your ballot, it goes through a handful of steps before it gets counted.
— In transit. Before your vote can be tallied, it must get to the right place. Your ballot ultimately ends up at your county's election headquarters.
— Signature verification. Those voting in person must show identification at the polls.
Early ballots go through a different process called signature verification, in which trained election officials look at an image of your signed affidavit and compare it to up to three of your other signatures on file.
Once your signature is successfully verified, a bipartisan team separates your ballot from its early ballot envelope. It is then officially ready to be counted.
— Tallying with tabulators. Vote-counting machines — or, more officially, tabulators — are the equipment that count your ballot. They are used in more than 90% of election jurisdictions in the United States and all of Arizona's 15 counties.
In some counties, voters insert their ballots into on-site tabulators at in-person voting locations.
— Bipartisan examination. If there's an issue with the way the ballot is filled out, that prompts a process called adjudication, in which bipartisan teams examine ballots to determine voter intent.
— Reporting results. By law, county election officials must wait until five calendar days after the election to count ballots with missing or mismatched signatures. So determining tight races can take some time.
When are election results official?
Election results in Arizona are unofficial until local and state officials have tallied all ballots and certified the results.
