How the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is preparing to keep you and your ballot safe on Election Day

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Early voting is well underway in Maricopa County. If you requested an early ballot, you may be getting ready to mail it in.

That ballot will end up at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC) in downtown Phoenix. There are now extra fencing and barriers around the building to keep your vote and election workers safe.

Arizona's Family recently caught up with Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner about the office's role in the general election. He said they've been preparing for almost a year now, and MCSO treats this just like any other grand-scale event in the county.

MCSO works on security plans with the county recorder's office, other local agencies and its federal partners. With Maricopa County at the center of election conspiracy theories and threats of violence to election workers increasing over recent years, the fencing is necessary around MCTEC to make sure those election officials feel safe and they have the distance they need to get your ballot safely tabulated.

"Barriers are necessary to make sure that we just have a safe standoff distance to make sure that nobody enters that area," Sheriff Skinner said. "To basically set the line that we have zero tolerance. The process has to take place. This is democracy for our county, for our state and our nation."

MCTEC does have live video feeds so you can see what's happening inside the building .

The general election is an all-hands-on-deck situation, the sheriff says, and there are blackout dates in place so deputies can't take time off. Security has been ramped up since the last presidential election in 2020. Arizona's Family also asked the sheriff if voters would notice an increased deputy presence at vote centers.

"Probably that's a yes and no question because a lot of our staff is plain clothes," Sheriff Skinner said. "Obviously we don't want to look like we're influencing anything, any law enforcement. So you may not necessarily see the uniform staff within close proximity, but know that they are out there.

"We want this to be a peaceful process. We want it to be something that voters go in feel assured that what they're doing in this process, that they're safe and secure," he added.

If you would like to request an early ballot, you have until Oct. 25 in Maricopa County. Here is a list of other important voting deadlines .