After the initial tabulation of ballots on election night, the County Board of Supervisors meets publicly in the following days and weeks to conduct the county canvass. This involves an exhaustive review of all ballots, including write-in, early votes, and provisional ballots for each precinct. The County Board of Supervisors then certifies the aggregated final vote as the official canvass. Afterwards, the County Board of Supervisors must submit the official canvass to the Secretary of State so they can conduct the statewide canvass, which involves a review and aggregation of the totals from the counties.
Election certification is the process by which the final results are certified as a “true, correct, and complete tabulation of the votes cast” and a winner is named and notified for county and statewide offices. “2024 Official Canvass.” Certification at the county and state level takes place after the completion of the county and statewide canvasses, respectively.
At any time after the close of polls on Election Day, the County Board of Supervisors may release to the public the unofficial returns printed from the tabulating equipment during counting of ballots. A.R.S. § 16-622. When these printed results are combined with the write-in and early votes, and are then certified by the County Board of Supervisors, this is known as the "official canvass." for each precinct or election district A.R.S. § 16-622.
The County Board of Supervisors publicly conducts the county canvass meeting to certify the results printed from tabulation equipment. A.R.S. § 16-622. The county canvass includes write-in, early votes, and provisional ballots for each precinct. A.R.S. § 16-622; 2023 EPM at 247. This county canvass takes place not later than the third Thursday (or sixteen days) (November 21, 2024) after the election and must commence after all audits are completed and any discrepancies have been addressed by the County Recorder or Elections Director. A.R.S. § 16-642(A)(1); 2023 EPM at 220, 247, 248*.*
“The Board of Supervisors has a non-discretionary duty to canvass the returns as provided by the County Recorder or [Elections Director] and has no authority to change vote totals, reject the election results, or delay certifying the results without express statutory authority or a court order.” 2023 EPM at 248.
For any elections that include a federal, statewide, legislative office, or statewide ballot measure, the County Board of Supervisors must transmit the official canvass electronically to the Secretary of State before the third Monday (November 25, 2024) after the election. A.R.S. § 16-642(A)(2)(b); 2023 EPM at 248. Additionally, a certified copy of official county canvass must be promptly mailed to the Secretary of State. 2023 EPM at 248.
Following the completion of the official county canvass, the County Recorder (or other officer in charge of elections) submits several subject-matter reports to the Secretary of State. These include the Provisional Ballot Report, Accessibility Report, Voter Education Report, [1] Early Voting Report, and the Poll Worker Training Report. *2023 EPM* at 249–252.
The Provisional Ballot Report contains information on the number of regular and conditional provisional ballots cast, verified, and counted in each precinct in the county. 2023 EPM at 249. The report also includes an assessment of whether uniform procedures were followed when determining whether a provisional ballot should be counted or not. 2023 EPM at 249.
The Accessibility Report contains information on the number of polling locations during early voting and on Election Day and a description of their accessibility to disabled voters under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 2023 EPM at 249*,* 250*.* The report must cover measures being taken to bring inaccessible polling locations within compliance with the ADA. The report also includes information on language accessibility and assistance to voters who speak languages in jurisdictions covered under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. 2023 EPM at 249, 250.
The Voter Education Report contains information on county voter turnout, the number of election-related public service announcements, and media outreach made before Election Day, the number of voter education and outreach events in the community, and locations where voter information and election equipment was put on display. 2023 EPM at 250*.* The report must also include statistical information comparing performance with the previous election. 2023 EPM at 250*.*