Settlement reached in tight Arizona Senate vote count

PHOENIX — Arizona Republicans who had alleged the state’s two biggest counties — Maricopa and Pima — were illegally counting some ballots changed course Friday and agreed to settle their lawsuit if rural voters also get an extra chance to fix problems with ballots cast in the state’s tight U.S. Senate race.

The settlement was technically between Republicans and the state’s county recorders, but Democrats agreed to it. Arizona’s 15 counties now have until Nov. 14 to address the issue, which state Elections Director Eric Spencer said likely affects less than 10,000 votes out of more than 2.3 million cast statewide.

The settlement came a day after Democrat Kyrsten Sinema took a slight lead over Republican Martha McSally amid the slow vote count.