Maricopa County election officials released another batch of ballot results on Friday morning, with President Donald Trump narrowing the gap but Joe Biden holding onto his lead in our state.
The results from ballots posted at 9 a.m. showed Biden leading 50% to 49%, just 43,779 votes ahead throughout the state. That count brings Trump closer to Biden, after a Thursday night release had the former vice president ahead by 46,257 in our state.
Though his lead has shrunk slightly, Trump's gains are not on pace with what election experts have said he needs to maintain to win Arizona.
Reminder:
President Trump needed to continue winning ~58% of the remaining AZ ballots.
He just got 51.4%. https://t.co/3A7OPLJvf6— Zach Crenshaw (@ZachCrenshaw) November 6, 2020
As of Friday morning, there are an estimated 225,000 votes still to be tabulated across our state -- 140,000 in Maricopa County and 85,000 from other counties around Arizona.
**Estimate of ballots left to be counted in #Arizona (per @Garrett_Archer)
-225,000 statewide
-140,000 in Maricopa County
-85,000 in other counties(again, these are estimated outstanding ballots)
Biden currently leads by almost 44,000 votes
— Nick Ciletti (@NickCiletti) November 6, 2020
More than 1.8 million ballots were cast in the 2020 election in Maricopa County, which represents nearly 72% of total eligible voters, the Maricopa County Elections Department said in a news release this week.
Arizona remains a key state for both Biden's and Trump's campaigns.
Fox News Channel and the Associated Press have projected Biden will win Arizona and its 11 electoral votes. However, ABC News and other media outlets have not made a projection for Arizona.
KGUN9 is not making election projections and is relying on the AP.
Another ballot drop is set to take place at 7 p.m. Friday.
