Do snowbirds vote in Tucson?

The Pima County Recorders Office said Friday it had received more than 265,000 early ballots — or about 71 percent — of the roughly 373,000 early ballots sent out.

But with a large population of seasonal residents living in Tucson, it's not always clear in which state those people decided to cast their votes. 

The Pima County Democratic Party said they registered voters this summer who had just changed their residency to Arizona, but they didn't specify if those voters were "snowbirds," or just new residents.

“Democrats have put Arizona in play this year, and tonight it is going to go blue, said chairwoman Jo Holt. "A lot of that is a credit to our volunteers who spent the hot summer months registering voters – whether they were first time voters or neighbors that just changed their residency to Arizona."

By federal law, the state a person votes in is decided by the state in which they pay taxes, said Bill Beard, chairman of the Pima County Republican Party.

"99 percent of the Republicans I know, if they call here home, they're registered to vote in Arizona," Beard said. "I truly believe that people are expressing their interest in voting in whatever state they call home."