Arizona's Maricopa County begins hand count audit as estimated 400K ballots unprocessed

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Maricopa County election officials in Arizona's most populous region have begun a hand count audit, officials announced late Wednesday. 

"The hand count audit has begun," the county’s election department said on Twitter. "Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian party chairs drew the races and ballots that hand count audit boards will review Saturday. 

"This is an important step in ensuring the accuracy of the 2022 General Election results," they added. 

Fox News could not immediately reach election officials for comment on the audit, but according to information provided on Arizona secretary of state website, an audit is conducted using a sample of ballots to test the accuracy of the tabulation equipment.

MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, OFFICIALS APOLOGIZE FOR VOTE TABULATOR PROBLEMS, SAY 7% OF BALLOTS AFFECTED

Voters in Arizona are still awaiting results of the crucial U.S. Senate and governor's races, and several closely watched U.S. House races. The secretary of state's office estimates that Maricopa County, the state's most populous county, has around 400,000 uncounted ballots.

Election officials looked to ensure that the 2022 election cycle was not a repeat of the chaotic 2020 election and have kept voters apprised of any tabulation difficulties. 

Officials found in the early hours on Election Day that 20% of polling locations had tabulators that were experiencing issues.

MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, ELECTION OFFICIALS SAY SOLUTION FOUND TO VOTING MACHINE PROBLEMS

County Supervisor Bill Gates said that of the approximately 250,000 in-person votes that were cast on Election Day, "the lion's share" have been successfully counted.

However, 7% of the ballots, roughly 17,000 ballots, were placed in secure drop boxes after the machines began experiencing tabulation errors and needed to be counted separately. 

Gates said that no one had been "disenfranchised" and that everyone’s vote would be counted in the final tally.

"With regard to ‘criminal’ or ‘rigged,’ there is absolutely no basis for that statement," he added.

Arizona has one of the slowest counting processes in the country, and Gates said he believes that roughly 95% of the votes will be tallied by Friday evening. 

Maricopa County officials will continue updating election results each evening. 

Democratic candidates Sen. Mark Kelly and Gov. Katie Hobbs maintain and narrow lead over their Republican challengers. 

Republicans have so far secured three Arizona House seats while Democrats have two confirmed wins. Four House seats remain unconfirmed as votes continue to be counted.

Fox News' Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.