Arizona kicks off swing-state early voting
The voting began with less than a month to go before the presidential election


What happened
Early voting kicked off in Arizona on Wednesday, making it the first of seven key battleground states to start casting ballots in the 2024 election. The Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigns sent their vice presidential nominees, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), to rally supporters in the state to get their votes in early.
Who said what
Walz visited a Veterans of Foreign Wars post and met with tribal leaders near Phoenix Wednesday then held a campaign rally in Tucson where he blamed Trump for blocking an immigration deal because solving the border issue "was an electoral problem for him." Vance held a morning rally in Tucson then attended a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) forum in Mesa. He claimed the federal Hurricane Helene response was hindered by Harris' "incompetence," CNN said, and "falsely accused" FEMA of spending disaster relief funds on illegal immigrants.
Arizona, "with its 15 Electoral College votes, has no clear favorite in the presidential race," The New York Times said, though Trump holds a "slight lead" in the state, which he lost by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2020. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes yesterday urged voters to cast their ballots early, because it "helps us get our results in earlier."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Harris is scheduled to hold a rally in Phoenix on Thursday while Trump has one planned 90 miles north in Prescott Valley on Saturday. Early in-person voting begins next week in four other swing states: Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
‘Conspiracy theories about her disappearance do a disservice’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Why is this government shutdown so consequential?
Today's Big Question Federal employee layoffs could be in the thousands
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies