With Arizona’s primary election quickly approaching, officials are asking voters who received mail-in ballots to return them as soon as possible.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer says time is of the essence to make your vote count.

“Please, please, please, please, mail it back by July 26, because, unlike some states, we must have the ballot in our hands, received, by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2, Election Day,” said Richer.

Richer says there is a multistep process to verify each ballot, and the more ballots are sent in early, the sooner the county can provide verified election results.

“We hope to have, tabulated and ready to release, 8 p.m., on Election Day, everything that we’ve received by Sunday before the Tuesday Election Day,” said Richer.

Nearly 2.5 million early ballots were returned in Arizona during the 2020 election.