Supporters of President Trump in Arizona protested outside of the Maricopa County Elections Department on Wednesday night, shouting "Count the vote!" as workers inside did exactly that: tally the ballots from Tuesday's election.
NBC News' Gadi Schwartz estimates about 200 people, most of them not wearing masks and many waving Trump and American flags, gathered outside of the building, which was surrounded by armed sheriff's deputies. CBS 5 reporter Kim Powell tweeted a video of the protesters chanting, "Let us in!" and Schwartz said they were also yelling, "Fox News sucks!" in reference to the network calling the race for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on election night.
When a news outlet projects a winner in an election, it does not mean that the person is certified the winner and votes are no longer counted in the race; results are not finalized until all of the eligible votes are counted by election officials and then certified by the state. For those interested in watching Maricopa County election workers count ballots, there are live video feeds on the department's website.
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Arizona has 11 electoral votes, and with 86 percent of estimated votes reported, Biden has 50.7 percent of the vote compared to Trump's 47.9 percent. There are still thousands of ballots left to be counted in Maricopa County and other parts of the state. Catherine Garcia
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