TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – With so many important races and propositions in the air, the Pima County Elections Department is preparing for its busiest day yet.

Pima County communications director Mark Evans tells 13 News the elections department has hired more than 2,000 workers to assist with voting centers and ballot processing.

PCED has prepared contingency plans for various situations to ensure that everything runs smoothly, from the voting areas where ballots are printed to the election centers where the votes will be counted.

“We have a lot of contingency plans and hope nothing goes wrong,” Evans said. “But if something goes wrong, we have a plan to handle it.”

Each voting center has at least two printers, so if a printer needs to be reloaded, another printer will be available to continue printing ballots, Evans said.

There are backup generators in the election centers where votes will be counted. In case of a power outage, vote counting machines will continue to work.

Evans said the county has begun processing those results, with thousands of ballots submitted through early voting, and results will begin to be released starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

PCED said it will begin processing ballots submitted on Election Day at 10 p.m.

This is shaping up to be a long process, Evans said in a two-page vote.

“Because this is a two-card vote, it makes the process take a little bit longer, so we think the first day results might be a little bit delayed,” he said. “We think it’s going to be a pretty long night for the selection team.”

Evans told 13 News that Pima County followed election procedures outlined in the Arizona Secretary of State’s 600-page guide to ensure the integrity and security of the election.

Emergency voters outside the Pima County Register’s Office voting area told 13 News they are excited to participate in the democratic process and hope others will, too.

Pima Community College student James Pruitt said he was excited to submit the ballot. He is voting for the second time in the presidential election.

“Now I even have the opportunity to go out and vote,” Pruitt said. “My car literally broke down and I took the bus here because there is a way to do it.”

Shoshana O’Hara moved to Tucson at the end of July and said filling out the ballot was an easy process. He said he constantly encourages people to get out to vote.

“Go vote, your voice matters,” he said. “The outcome of this election is very important”

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