Ten days after the general election, Arizona's medical marijuana ballot measure appears to be headed toward passage as Maricopa County election officials race to finish counting early and provisional ballots.

Just before 6 p.m. Friday, the Secretary of State's Office reported the measure was leading by more than 4,000 votes. It was the first time the measure had more yes votes than no votes since the ballot tally began Nov. 2.

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.

A measure to legalize medical marijuana in Arizona is still trailing but the gap is closing.

A federal appeals court is refusing to order Arizona to count provisional ballots cast by voters whose citizenship wasn't confirmed when they applied to register to vote.

A civil rights group asked an appeals court to require Arizona counties to process provisional ballots from voters with unconfirmed citizenship status.