PHOENIX – With well over a million ballots already returned in Maricopa County alone and less than 24 hours remaining until the polls open on Election Day, ABC15 is committed to keeping you informed.

Maricopa County election officials provided an update ahead of Election Day on Monday. Watch the press conference in the player below:

I recently sat down with Maricopa County District 3 Supervisor Bill Gates to get a status check before Election Day.

“If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be 'patience,'” explains Supervisor Gates.

Gates, himself a former election lawyer, says he wants voters to realize that secure elections take time and that Maricopa County election officials work within state law.

“We may have a line on election day; it is not a violation of the law to have a line on election day,” he explains.

There are other factors that could affect this – such as a two-sided ballot. But with 246 vote centers in Maricopa County alone, Gates says they're poised for an expected record turnout.

“We will do everything we can to make these lines as short as possible. We encourage people to go to locations.maricopa.vote if there is a line at their voting center and go to another one.”

But it's not just about patience with the vote, it's also about patience with the results. Gates says he understands that people want to see results faster, but also encourages them to make their voices heard in Parliament to change laws.

Maricopa County even recently faced criticism from billionaire and former President Donald Trump supporter Elon Musk.

ABC15's full voter guide can be found here

Musk published on

Even more importantly, accuracy and safety are more important to me than speed every time.”

Gates also mentioned that state law requires election officials to give voters five days to verify their ballots. In other words, there would be no way to have all votes legally counted before that five-day deadline.

“We have a Republican and a Democrat there to figure out who the voter was trying to vote for,” Gates explains. “That also takes time. What this ensures is accuracy. Isn't that the most important thing? Isn’t that more important than speed, especially when it’s such close races and there’s so much attention?”

Gates went on to say he has no problem with people asking questions in “good faith,” but when it comes to the spread of misinformation, he says it needs to stop and fears that the more people hear false things, the fewer will There is trust in the system, which he describes as “very dangerous”.

If you have questions about polling locations or tracking your ballot, go to BeBallotReady.Vote.