There’s a lot of attention on Arizona ballot counting right now, so here’s some background for those interested:

For many years now, Arizona has been a real leader in early voting. We’ve been voting by mail since the 1990s—it was started by a Republican governor and a Republican legislature and it has earned strong, bipartisan support for decades now.

We’ve proven that voting by mail is safe and secure—and makes it easier for everyone to participate in our democracy.

Until President Trump started losing Arizona, that has never been a question.

Here’s why the count in Arizona is taking some extra time: In our state, voters can drop off their mail-in ballots at polling locations on Election Day. Elections officials verify signatures on each ballot by hand, then count them. It takes time.

That’s what is happening right now: Ballots dropped off at polling locations are being counted just as they've done in previous elections. There has never been an issue, and there isn’t an issue today. Any “controversy” is literally made up.

I’m so proud of our elections officials. They’re doing a great job. And while it may take a little longer to count every vote, we’re used to that in Arizona. But here, we count every vote—safely and securely—and we always will.