AZ: Inside the private company Maricopa County depends on to power through the last-minute ballot slog
The “bing bong, bing bong” of the security gate bell rings over the loudspeakers at Runbeck Election Services. Polls in Arizona’s presidential preference election closed three and a half hours ago, and ballots have finally arrived here.
The loading dock door flies up, letting in cool spring air, and workers roll in two locked cages carrying trays of green envelopes. Soon, the envelopes, with ballots still sealed inside, are shooting through Runbeck’s scanner at a rate of 12 per second. Within minutes, the voter signatures on thousands of envelopes have been scanned.
It’s fast for a reason. At times, all of America is waiting to find out the results from these ballots, which are cast in the largest swing county in the nation.
Dropped off at polling places or in ballot drop boxes on Election Day, these ballots are among the last in Maricopa County to be counted, because the voter signatures on the outer envelopes still need to be verified. It often takes days to count the votes inside, with the outcome of an election hinging on the result.
https://azmirror.com/2024/04/22/inside-the-private-company-maricopa-county-depends-on-to-power-through-the-last-minute-ballot-slog/