The early voting has been begun in Arizona State, including at 16 early polling locations in Maricopa County. The number of voting locations in the county will increase to 25 by the next Wednesday, October 18.

According to the Maricopa County Recorder's office, there had been over 500 people physically coming to early voting polling places across the county by the Wednesday afternoon. That's more than they thought there would be, they said.

Although, County Recorder Helen Purcell said that, she expected a large turnout because of the presidential election and because of people wanting to avoid the massive lines that some voters waited hours in last March.

Purcell said that, "I'm sure there's some of that." "I think everybody said at the time, if you voted early you didn't need to do this (wait in line)."

Arizona is a battleground state for early voting. A full third of registered voters are Independents, which are also a quickly-growing voting bloc. Over 51,000 people registered to vote as Independents in one week in Arizona.

Maricopa County voters need an ID card and can go to any of the locations. Visit the Arizona Secretary of State's website for information on what type of identification is sufficient.

Most locations open at 8 a.m. For a list of times and early voting polling places in Maricopa County, visit maricopa.vote.

There are also locations for early voters to drop off ballots they've filled out rather than using voting machines. Those can also be found through the Maricopa County Recorder's Office.

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Nandini