Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Pima County election officials announced today that somewhere between 26,000 and 34,000 ballots from yesterday's election remained to be counted. Those ballots must have their signatures verified by the County Recorder's Office before they can be sent to the Elections Department for tabulation.
In addition, the county has roughly 18,300 provisional ballots that have to be verified. Provisional ballots come when there's some question about whether someone has already voted early, is possibly voting in the wrong precinct or has run into a different snafu. In most elections, roughly 80 to 85 percent of those ballots get counted, according to a county press release.
The Elections Department will begin counting early ballots this afternoon, with new results expected by the end of the day. Tabulation will continue tomorrow.
While hundreds of thousands of votes still remain to be counted in the state, it appears a proposition to hike income tax on Arizona’s highest earns to fund education programs is likely to pass.
As of Wednesday, Nov. 4, Proposition 208 had the support of 53 percent of voters and was leading by 265,589 votes.
That lead has narrowed from last night, when supporters of Prop 208, Invest in Education, declared victory in their push to approve the 3.5% surcharge on income exceeding $250,000 for single tax filings, or $500,000 for joint filings. The elevated tax rate would go into effect for tax years beginning in 2021.
The funds from Prop 208, also known as the Invest in Education Act, would go toward hiring teachers and classroom support personnel while increasing their base salary and funding supplementary education programs.
After analyzing the first major drop of returns, Invest in Education announced their victory at a virtual press conference last night at 8:30 p.m.
Rebecca Gau, the executive director of Stand for Children Arizona, part of the coalition in support of 208, says the decision to declare victory was made with careful consideration of the likelihood the proposition would pass.
“We were very aware of the kind of lead we needed with the initial results that get released from the Secretary of State, and we looked at our models, and it was pretty clear that although the numbers would change over the night, we knew there was no way that they could make up the difference, and there still is no way they can make up the difference,” Gau said.
Garrick Taylor, the executive vice president for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, part of the opposition group against 208, said the call was made too early.
This story has been updated to reflect new vote totals.
With an unknown number of early ballots in Pima County and at least 400,000 votes left to count statewide (per the Arizona Republic), the race for to fill three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission shifted last night as more votes were counted.
While the top vote-getter remains Democrat Anna Tovar (with 18 percent of the vote), former Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President and GOP candidate Lea Marquez Peterson has moved into second place (with 17 percent of the vote). Meanwhile, Republican James O’Connor (with 17 percent of the vote) has slid into third place, pushing Democrat Bill Mundell into fourth place (with 16 percent of the vote).
The three top vote-getters will join Democrat Sandra Kennedy and Republican Justin Olson on the five-member panel.
The new commissioners will serve four-year terms on the state’s regulatory body overseeing public service utilities as well as regulating corporations.
In the race to fill three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission, the Democratic slate of Anna Tovar (with 19 percent of the vote), William Mundell (with 17 percent of the vote) and Shea Stanfield (with 17 percent of the vote) is out ahead of the three Republican candidates, Lea Marquez Peterson (16 percent), James "Jim" O'Connor (16 percent and Eric Sloan (15 percent).
With 814 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 250,000 as of Wednesday, Nov. 4, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which saw its number of cases jump by 150 yesterday, had seen 29,291 of the state’s 250,633 confirmed cases.
With 39 new deaths reported yesterday, a total of 6,059 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 647 deaths in Pima County, according to the Nov. 4 report.
Although the current rise in COVID-19 cases is alarming, Gov. Doug Ducey warned last week there’s even worse to come.
“We know that there is a storm ahead of us, yet it’s not here,” Ducey said. “But those simple guidelines of wearing a mask, washing our hands, being socially distanced and using common sense have served us very well to date.”
However, the governor doesn’t plan on imposing new safety restrictions to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
“The mitigation that we’ve put out, the plan we put into effect remains in effect. I am proud that Arizona is open, that our economy is open, that our educational institutions are open and our tourist destinations are open,” Ducey said. “While at the same time, we do have mitigation steps in place that have allowed us to protect lives while protecting livelihoods, and we’re gonna continue to do that.”
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide has declined from July peaks but has ticked upward in recent weeks as the virus has begun to spread more rapidly and jumped by more than 100 yesterday. ADHS reported that as of Nov. 3, 1.065 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, topping 1,000 for the first time since Aug. 21. That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13; it hit a subsequent low of 468 on Sept. 27.
A total of 989 people visited emergency rooms on Nov. 3 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28.
A total of 241 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Nov. 3. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13 and hit a subsequent low of 114 on Sept. 22.
On a week-by-week basis in Pima County, the number of positive COVID tests peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,452 cases, according to an Oct. 29 report from the Pima County Health Department.
Pima County saw a big bump in cases following the return of UA students, followed by a steady decline and then a big bump upward. For the week ending Sept. 19, 1,230 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 26, 615 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 3, 533 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 10, 465 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 17, 512 cases were reported; and for the week ending Oct. 24, 829 cases were reported.
Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 to 10 in the week ending Sept. 5, one in the week ending Sept. 12, three in the week ending Sept. 19, four in the week ending Sept. 26, four in the week ending Oct. 3, two in the week ending Oct 10, and zero in the subsequent weeks.
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 221 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals, but it has been on the rise in recent weeks. In the week ending Sept. 19, 17 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 26, 15 people were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 3, 20 patients were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 10, 27 people were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 17, 35 people were admitted; and in the week ending Oct. 24, 28 people were admitted. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Get tested: Pima County offers free COVID testing, UA offering antibody testing
The Pima County Health Department has four free testing centers around town with easy-to-schedule appointments—often with same-day availability—with results in 24 to 72 hours.
You’ll have a nasal swab test at the Kino Event Center (2805 E. Ajo Way) the Udall Center (7200 E. Tanque Verde Road) and downtown (88 E. Broadway). The center at the northside Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, 1660 W. Ruthrauff Road, involves a saliva test designed by ASU.
Schedule an appointment at pima.gov/covid19testing.
The University of Arizona’s antibody testing has been opened to all Arizonans as the state attempts to get a handle on how many people have been exposed to COVID-19 but were asymptomatic or otherwise did not get a test while they were ill.
To sign up for testing, visit https://covid19antibodytesting.arizona.edu/home.
State Sen. Vince Leach has captured 53 percent of the vote against Democratic challenger Joanna Mendoza. Leach now leads Mendoza by nearly 7,000 votes.
In the House race in LD11, which includes Oro Valley and Marana, as well Pinal County precincts and the town of Maricopa, Republican state Reps. Bret Roberts and Mark Finchem were outpacing Democratic challenger Felipe Perez by more than 3,000 votes.
An unknown number of early ballots dropped off at polling places yesterday remain to be counted..
Not much changed in other results from last night.
In Legislative District 2, which runs along with Santa Cruz River from downtown Tucson through Green Valley and Sahuarita and down to Nogales, Democrats were leading Republican candidates. In the LD2 House race, Democratic state Rep. Daniel Hernandez had 37 percent of the vote, while state Sen. Andrea Dalessandro, who is seeking to return to the House as she hit a term limit in the Senate, had 36 percent of the vote. Republican challenger Deborah McEwan had 27 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, State Rep. Rosanna Gabaldon had 62 percent of the vote against Mark Workman as she campaigned to move to the state Senate.
In Legislative District 9, which includes central Tucson, the Catalina Foothills and the Casas Adobes area, Democratic state Reps. Pamela Powers-Hannley and Rep. Randy Friese were leading GOP challenger Brendan Lyons by more than 18,000 votes. Meanwhile, state Sen. Victoria Steele was unopposed.
In Legislative District 10, the Democratic slate of state Rep. Domingo DeGrazia and political newcomer Stephania Stahl Hamilton were leading the Republican slate of Michael Hicks and Mabelle Gummere by more than than 14,000 votes. Meanwhile, state Rep. Kirsten Engel had 60 percent of the vote against GOP challenger Justine Wadsack.
In westside Legislative District 3, the Democratic slate of state Reps. Andrés Cano and Alma Hernandez and state Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales were unopposed.
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Arizona voters have legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults. Prop 207, which would legalize marijuana possession of up to an ounce for those 21 and older, has 60 percent of the vote and has been called by the Associated Press.
The proposition will allow marijuana possession of up to an ounce for those 21 and older and impose a 16% tax on cannabis sales. It will also allow the expungement of convictions for some marijuana-related crimes.
Voters narrowly rejected a similar initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in 2016, but the proposition made it on the ballot this year with the support of the Smart and Safe Arizona Political Action Committee.
The legalization of recreational marijuana use, which would begin in March, is expected to generate $250 million annually for the state and municipalities while establishing a Smart and Safe Fund to collect taxes, fees and fines for program administration and dispersal to enforcement, education and social programs.
The approved measure would allow adults to grow up to six plants and possess up to five grams of concentrates, while edibles would be restricted to 10mg THC per piece.
The current system for those with MMJ certifications will remain in place for cardholders, who can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana with no restrictions on THC content in edibles.
Smoking marijuana in public places such as parks and restaurants is prohibited under the approved ballot measure.
The Arizona Department of Health Services will be the lead agency overseeing both the medical and recreational marijuana programs.
Meanwhile, Prop 208, which would raise the sales taxes on individuals who earn more than $250,000 (or $500,000 for couples filing jointly) in order to fund education programs, is leading with 54 percent of the vote.
With most of the early ballots and about one-fourth of Pima County precincts counted, it appears that Democrats have won a Republican-leaning district on the Pima County Board of Supervisors.
In the race to replace Republican Supervisor Ally Miller, Democrat Rex Scott is ahead of Republican Steve Spain with 55 percent of the vote in District 1, which includes the Catalina Foothills as well Oro Valley and Marana, is a Republican-leaning district.
In District 2, Democrat Matt Heinz, who defeated longtime Supervisor Ramon Valadez in the August primary, easily dispatched Republican Anthony Sizer, capturing 71 percent of the vote.
In District 3, Democrat Sharon Bronson is headed for a seventh term on the board as she’s won 62 percent of the vote against GOP challenger Gabby Mercer.
In District 4, incumbent GOP Supervisor Steve Christy is slightly ahead of Democratic challenger Steve Diamond squeaking by only 417 votes more than Diamond in this heavily GOP district. Both Christy and Diamond are split with each taking 50 percent of the vote.
In District 5, in the race for the open seat previously held by the late Supervisor Richard Elias, Democrat Adelita Grijalva had dispatched Republican Fernando Gonzales with 77 percent of the vote.
Other Countywide Offices
In a rematch of the 2016 race, Democratic challenger Chris Nanos appears to have unseated Republican Sheriff Mark Napier, the candidate he lost to four years ago. Nanos had captured 53 percent of the vote.
In the race for County Recorder, Democrat Gabriella Cázares-Kelly had 62 percent of the vote against Republican Benny White.
Democrat Brian Bickel is holding onto his lead over Treasurer Beth Ford, a Republican first elected in 2001, by capturing 53 percent of the vote.
Democrat Suzanne Droubie had won 62 percent of the vote against Republican Jo Ann Sabbagh in the race for County Assessor.
After winning a three-way primary race in August, Democrat Laura Conover was unopposed in the contest to replace Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, who is stepping down after six terms. County School Superintendent Dustin Williams was also unopposed in his bid for a second term.
