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Ducey: Arizona likely won't declare winner of presidential election on Nov. 3

Posted at 4:26 PM, Sep 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-12 16:48:22-04

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says the state likely won't declare a winner of its presidential race on the night of the election.

The Republican governor made the comment in responding to questions from reporters at a news conference Thursday afternoon. The governor said he wants to "manage expectations" about the electoral process ahead of Nov. 3.

"I do want to manage expectations that we likely will not be declaring a winner, possibly, at the state level, certainly nationally, on the evening of Nov. 3," Ducey said. "And whoever wins that electoral college will be declared president of the United States."

Ducey is presumably referring to an expected increase in mail-in ballots, which can take longer to count as election officials verify signatures and ballot security measures.

In 2018, results of Arizona's close U.S. Senate and Secretary of State races weren't declared for days as the tabulation of mail-in ballots continued by local county recorders.

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