Want to make sure your vote is counted?

I voted early for the first time, at a voting center the Friday before Election Day. I had to work on Tuesday and worried I might not find the time.

I could vote by mail. Almost everyone I know does.

On social media, people asserted that mail-in ballots, particularly those delivered to the polls, aren’t counted unless races were close.

So, how do you assure you vote is counted?

“Whatever is convenient for you and works for you,” said Helen Purcell, who was Maricopa County Recorder for 28 years.

Because no matter how you do it, if you are an eligible voter, your vote gets counted. It would help if you mailed back your mail-in ballot, Purcell said. That’s how she votes.

Mail-in votes take longer to process. Signatures are verified, and each ballot reviewed by a bipartisan panel before being tabulated, even if you drop it off on Election Day.

Even when you screw up and vote, say, for three candidates instead of two, staff verifies what is wrong, and a machine duplicates your ballot, eliminating that one race while still counting the rest of your choices.

Your ballot doesn’t get counted only if you aren’t eligible to vote, say, if you registered in a different county.

All that takes time, which explains why you go to bed not knowing for sure who won. Purcell likes that there are so many ways to vote. Because then more people vote.

She doesn’t think Arizona will go all mail-in ballots. Too many people like voting in person. Nor does she envision voting by computer, not with overwhelming security concerns. (Ahem, Russia.)

The state’s vote tabulation system isn’t connected to the Internet.

Purcell promised every eligible ballot will be tallied, even if margins are wide and winners declared, no matter how long it takes.

So, what is the best way to ensure your vote is counted? Vote.