Arizona, Nevada election officials count ballots under high security

By Tim Reid and Ned Parker

PHOENIX/RENO, Nevada (Reuters) - Arizona and Nevada security officials remained on high alert on Wednesday for election-related protests and allegations of voter fraud, as they prepared for days of ballot counting to determine final results in key races for governor and U.S. Senate.

Hundreds of thousands of votes still remained uncounted in the two closely competitive states, which will help determine whether President Joe Biden's Democrats lose control of the Senate. Election officials in Maricopa County, Arizona's most populous, said it could take until at least Friday to tally all votes.

Despite fears of violence and predictions of voter intimidation in the weeks leading up to Tuesday's Election Day, officials said voting went smoothly in both states and that a heavy law enforcement presence had paid off.

In an interview with Reuters in Phoenix, Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said his force had deployed helicopters, drones, deputies on horseback, and monitored people it considered potential troublemakers on social media throughout election week, and they remain on alert. Fencing and barricades had also been erected around the county's election department, deterring protesters, Penzone said.

"We took all the appropriate measures. We know what civil unrest looks like and how overwhelming it can be," Penzone said.

About 400,000 votes in Maricopa County remain to be counted, election officials said. The race for governor and U.S. Senate remained uncalled on Wednesday, with about 70% of votes tallied.

Republican gubernatorial candidate and election conspiracy theorist Kari Lake seized on the fact that about 60 electronic vote tabulation machines malfunctioned on Tuesday, raising fears she might exploit the glitches if she loses.

Jamie Rodriguez, the interim registrar of voters in Washoe County, Nevada, said during the state's primary season her staff was harassed by people convinced of election fraud. Her predecessor stepped down from her office this summer, citing the threats she received since former Republican President Donald Trump falsely claimed his 2020 election loss was due to massive voter fraud.

At times, Rodriguez has seen herself referred to as a “Nazi” on Web postings by election deniers and she has had people accost her verbally in voting centers about election fraud. She has not received any threats like her predecessor, she added.

The race for Nevada’s governorship and a U.S. Senate race also remained uncalled on Wednesday, with tens of thousands of mail ballots still to be counted in Washoe and Clark counties, which make up 90% of the vote in Nevada.

“There's still a lot of election left," Rodriguez said.

(Reporting by Tim Reid and Ned Parker; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis)