Number of uncounted ballots in Arizona rises as deadline nears

While the presidential election is now over, the state of Arizona has hundreds of thousands of uncounted ballots that could determine a number of races, including that of infamous Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, reported Colorlines.

The number of uncounted Arizona ballots is not only high -- it's rising.

On Wednesday, there were about 602,000 uncounted ballots in Arizona. On Thursday, the official number rose to 631,000.

Half of all early votes have not been counted yet, and a number of provisional ballots also remain. Latino advocacy groups worry because minorities are more likely to vote early, and a disproportionate number of provisional ballots came from predominantly Latino areas of the state.

Elections officials in the state only have five days to finish counting ballots, but advocacy groups are requesting a deadline extension to prevent voters from being disenfranchised.

[Image via Gage Skidmore on Flickr]