County to explore election fixes
Following years of rocky elections, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will explore changes to the election system that could alleviate logistical issues at the polls and long waits for results.
Board Chairman Steve Chucri said the board will begin discussions about how to improve the election system next week. This could mean taking over some election responsibilities from Maricopa County
Fontes, Churcri said.
“We’re not assigning blame to anyone; we just want to be best in class in elections,” Chucri said. Recorder Adrian
Voters suffered years of problems
Maricopa County elections throughout the past decade have been fraught with issues that include excessive provisional ballots, equipment malfunctions, poll worker shortages, logistical errors and slow ballot counting.
Most notably, a significant decrease in polling places during the 2016 presidential preference election led to hourslong lines. An estimated 100,000 people, frustrated by the wait, walked away from the polls without casting ballots.
That was under Republican Helen Purcell, who then was the county recorder.
And just a few months ago during the August primary, 62 polling places did not open on time because the equip-
ment was not set up.
That was under Fontes, a Democrat.
What does the law allow?
Under state law, the Board of Supervisors is responsible for Election Day, but it relinquished most election responsibilities to the Maricopa County recorder decades ago.
Chucri said the board will work with an outside elections attorney to determine what changes it can legally make to the election process to improve it.
He said he wants to look into technology improvements to the tabulation process so results are expedited and determine whether there is a better mail-in-ballot authentication process other than time-consuming signature verification.
Churcri said he also wants clarification on emergency voting. The Arizona Republican Party challenged the legality of emergency vote centers Fontes operated during the November election, but never filed a formal lawsuit.
Churcri also said that the board will consider whether it should take over some Election Day logistics, a duty currently prescribed the the Recorder’s Office.
Board chairman: This isn’t partisan
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is controlled by a Republican majority. Fontes is the first Democrat to hold that position in at least 50 years.
There is already criticism that the board’s interest in elections is a partisan attempt to strip Fontes of power.
Churcri said that is not the case.
“It’s not going to be five board members sitting on a dais trying to cause a stir and be partisan,” he said.
He said he wants to work with Fontes to try to find the best solutions, though he noted that Fontes may not ultimately agree with the board’s decisions.
Fontes did not comment on potential changes to the election process but said in a statement, “This team is focused on preparing for the official canvass on Nov. 26. My priority is the work at hand needed to finish out the election.”