PHX Reporter

As Election Day approaches, serious concerns are being raised about potential bottlenecks and long wait times at polling locations across Maricopa County. 

Jen Wright, former assistant attorney general for the Elections Integrity Unit who now works as a private practice elections attorney, has highlighted issues stemming from the county's election planning that she fears could disenfranchise voters. 

“Long lines suppress votes,” Wright told the PHX Reporter. 

Wright also pointed to the the disparities in voting center accessibility, particularly in Republican and Native American districts.

“They seem to be just fine with disenfranchising voters in certain neighborhoods that maybe don't fit with their worldview of who should be elected,”  she said. “And I can't know that for a fact. I mean, it just seems very concerning to me that after what we saw in 2022, that they're willing to risk a repeat.”Wright urged residents to vote early if possible and to check their county’s website for wait time information“Long lines depress voter turnout,” Wright said. 

Wright said voters should be ready for long lines. 

“Be prepared to stick it out to not let anyone take away their sacred right,” Wright said.

In a recent letter to Maricopa County election officials, Abe Hamadeh, candidate for Arizona's 8th Congressional District, and Harmeet Dhillon, counsel to the Republican National Committee, called for an emergency meeting to address concerns about the county’s Election Day plans. 

“The RNC sent a letter to the Maricopa County elections officials indicating that there is going to be a sharp problem on Election Day given the election plan that is underway,” Wright said.  The letter emphasized the need for “immediate revisions and accommodations to address the problems identified in the Report,” citing worries that voters could be “blindsided by long lines that may discourage them from casting their votes.” 

The original Election Plan estimated a time-to-vote of 10.4 to 12.4 minutes, but this was not based on the actual ballot format, which consists of a complex two-page, double-sided layout.

A recent survey indicated an average voting time of 15.055 minutes, raising alarms about the adequacy of current resources. 

Hamadeh and Dhillon pointed out that the plan was formulated with an estimated turnout that was “55,000 fewer voters than expected,” which does not account for projected high voter turnout. 

Furthermore, they highlighted potential risks of equipment malfunctions, with Director of Elections Scott Jarrett warning that vote tabulation machines may jam as voters will need to insert two sheets of paper. 

“We are offering to work together to take the necessary steps to protect the voting rights of all Maricopa voters,” the letter said. 

Hamadeh and Dillon urged officials to discuss solutions such as deploying backup machines and increasing the number of voting secrecy booths.

Fields Moseley, Director of Communications for Maricopa County, responded to the concerns raised in the letter. 

“Yes and we responded,” he told PHX Reporter.

Moseley addressed the specific worries about long lines and voter accessibility. 

“We do not share these concerns because we have extensive planning around the two-page ballot. This plan was presented in a public meeting,” Moseley said. 

He encouraged the public to view the details of the planning process, referencing a Board of Supervisors meeting available online.

Moseley emphasized that the county has taken proactive measures. 

“The County has increased the number of voting locations, check-stations, and voting booths. These matters were discussed at a press conference on Oct. 22,” Moseley said.

When asked whether the county would convene the requested emergency meeting, Moseley decisively replied, “No.”

In response to concerns raised by Abe Hamadeh and Harmeet Dhillon, Deputy County Attorney Joseph E. La Rue clarified criticized their letter as relying on “outdated information” and stated that the county has significantly improved its in-person voting plan since the initial Election Plan, referencing an updated presentation from a September 9 meeting. 

La Rue highlighted the county's "enhancements."

"The County has increased the number of voting locations by 40% over 2020 and 10% over 2022, along with a 60% increase in voting booths,” La Rue said.

He concluded by directing them to additional resources, including a press conference from October 22, to further clarify the county's preparations for the upcoming election. 

However, Wright said a Sept. 9 meeting with the Maricopa Board of Supervisors included discussions and actions “none of which address increasing the number of vote centers or increase the number of privacy booths.” 

Wright called the issue a “simple math problem” and emphasized the impact of ballot length on voter experience. 

“Based off of an independent study of basically having people complete early ballots a group called Early Vote found that it actually takes more like an average of 15 minutes to complete these ballots,” she said. “And this is critical because if you look at some of the most popular voting locations in 2022, which is a midterm election, is theoretically should have fewer or fewer voter turnout than actual people who show up on Election Day.” 

The independent study Wright referred to was conducted by Verity Votes highlighted the need for adjustments to the county’s election plan, which currently includes a maximum of 40 voting booths per location, potentially leading to congestion. Heather Honey, CEO of Verity Vote, warned of the potential for voter’s dropping out of long lines. 

“We want to show why they needed to make changes before Election Day to avoid another catastrophe,” Honey previously told the PHX Reporter. 

Honey urged better communication and more voting locations to alleviate potential bottlenecks.“Long wait times can discourage people from voting. If they see a line and think it’ll take an hour, they might just leave,” Honey said.  Honey noted that many voters could take 20 to 23 minutes to complete their ballots, far exceeding Maricopa County’s estimates of 10 to 13 minutes. 

She emphasized the importance of proactive measures on behalf of voters. “If they print out and vote their sample ballot ahead of time, it reduces the time by almost half,” she said. 

Wright criticized the county’s response to concerns. ““Maricopa (County's) response was there's nothing to see here. We're completely unwilling to even have a conversation. Our plan is fine. Move along,” she said. 

Wright said even in its own estimate Maricopa County planned for double the time in line allowed by state statute. 

“What's concerning to me is Maricopa is already admitting that they expect an hour-long line when the Arizona Elections Procedures manual indicates that the maximum wait time plan should be for 30 minutes, not an hour,” she said. “So it's very concerning to me that they're aware that their maximum wait time in these more popular locations will exceed the elections procedures manual 30 minute wait time limit. And just stick with the status quo.” 

Wright also voiced disappointment with Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, who she feels has failed to fulfill his promise to streamline election processes. 

“I think he's been a disappointment to many of us who supported him because we thought we believed him when he said he wanted to make our case boring again,” she said. “But instead, he came into office and immediately started engaging in tit for tat with other Republican, you know, elected officials and candidates. And rather than trying to come up with problem solving, he decided to make excuses for his office. And he seems to have dug in. I'm grateful that he lost in his primary, and I'm looking forward to just replacing him in the Maricopa County recorder's office.”

As Election Day nears, Wright urges residents to be proactive. 

““Everyone should vote,” she said. “They should vote early if they can and they should go to their county website to see if there's any information about wait times. I know Maricopa has that and find the closest, most convenient voting center to avoid long times and that if they do vote on Election Day. Be prepared to stick it out to not let anyone take away their sacred right.”