PHOENIX β Tens of thousands of voters in Arizona's presidential primary election cast their votes for candidates who are no longer seeking their party's nomination.
The Arizona Capitol Times reportsΒ that nearly 100,000 voters on Tuesday cast ballots for candidates without active campaigns, more than 70,600 of those voters backed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who ended his campaign on March 15.
Officials say many of the votes were likely cast early by mail, before many candidates had withdrawn from the race. Early ballots were sent to voters across Arizona in late February.
Secretary of State Michele Reagan's spokesman says once a presidential candidate has filed paperwork to appear on Arizona's primary ballot there is no way to remove them, even if they have dropped out of the race.
