Arizona elections officials are going to court Monday for authorization to conduct a statewide recount of ballots cast on a proposition to change the initiative process.

Maricopa County will count outstanding provisional ballots through the weekend if necessary despite a state law that generally says all vote tallying must be completed by Friday, officials said.

The fate of three close statewide propositions may not be known until next week as Maricopa County elections officials need more time to process early and provisional ballots.

Early ballots will be the first tallied on election night. And if history is a guide, they will also be among the last.

For a candidate who has trailed by as much as 22 points in recent polls, even a sliver of good news is cause for celebration. Every poll taken over the past few months has shown Republican Gov. Jan Brewer beating Democrat Terry Goddard by double digits, with some showing him down by as much as 22 points. But though they all show different margins of victory for Brewer, a couple polls have shown Goddard narrowing the gap as Election Day approaches.

Sixteen court challenges against legislative, statewide and congressional candidates’ nominating petitions have already spurred at least five people to drop out.