About 50 percent of Arizona voters are expected to make their decisions early this year, said State Election Director Joe Kanefield.
The amount of early voters is high this year, and Kanefield said this may delay vote counting. Early voters dropping off their ballot on Election Day may add a few extra days for all the votes to be processed, he said.
The increase in early voting dramatically changes how a campaign operates, breaking it down into two separate campaigns: one directed to early voters and one directed to those who vote at the polls, said David Schweikert, Republican candidate for U.S. Representative in Congressional District 5.
It’s no longer a campaign geared solely toward Election Day in November, he said.
“The best way I’ve heard it put is: In the old days, it was a one-day sale. Now the sale takes place over an entire month,” Schweikert said.
The downside to this is that campaigning is becoming more expensive and complicated, making it harder for the everyday Joe to run for office, Schweikert said.
But campaign workers and politicos from both sides of the spectrum agree the high involvement in this year’s presidential race is a good thing.
“It’s awesome,” said Andrew Clark, director of the Arizona Students’ Association. “This level of involvement is very healthy for the political process.”
If nothing else, early voting heightens the sense of urgency for candidates and their campaigns, said Clark, a history junior.
On Friday, the last day for early voting, Clark said he was handing out flyers in support of the Republican Party near a polling place in Avondale. He said voters were waiting in line for at least three hours.
“Traditionally, such a large turnout in Arizona supports Republicans, but maybe not in this election,” Clark said.
He didn’t vote early, so Clark said he’ll head to the polls at 6 a.m. on Election Day to avoid the long lines. He said some polling places could have waits of up to four hours. Despite the long lines, he said it is a good sign.
Nonprofit leadership and management junior Sam Richard also said the turnout bodes well for the political process.
Richard said he’s a vote-early type of guy, which serves him well this year because he’ll be too busy working for the Democratic candidate for Maricopa County Sheriff, Dan Saban, on Tuesday.
He said the move toward voting early doesn’t change the fact that politicians are always campaigning.
“They’re always concerned about their constituents,” said Richard, the youth volunteer coordinator for Saban. “The committee to re-elect is formed the day after the election.”
The election is only one aspect of the political process, Richard said. Politics doesn’t end with the election, he said.
“Regardless of how the elections turn out, we need to support our elected officials,” Richard said. “But politicians also need to be held accountable once they’re in office.”
Reach the reporter at philip.haldiman@asu.edu.
