Maricopa starting the big cheat on Monday

Maricopa County to begin counting early ballots Monday

168,000 ballots have been returned and are ready for tabulation, department says

PHOENIX — The Maricopa County Elections Department says it will begin counting early ballots Monday.

About 168,000 ballots have been returned and are ready for tabulation, according to the department.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is holding a press conference at 3 p.m. to discuss election security. ABC15 will live stream that event online here and on streaming devices.

“All early and provisional ballots will be counted at the Elections Department, while Election Day ballots are counted on tabulators inside the Vote Center,” according to a news release.

Voters can track and verify the status of their ballot by texting "JOIN" to 628-683 or by visiting BeBallotReady.Vote.