Arizona primary: Maricopa County had one polling site for every 21,000 voters

Voters experienced long lines at the polls for Arizona's presidential primaries Tuesday because of fewer polling sites this year in Maricopa County.

Polling sites were overwhelmed for Tuesday's Presidential Preference Election after county officials reduced the number sites to save money.

Most counties surveyed by The Arizona Republic had enough polling places to average 2,500 or fewer eligible voters per polling site. Maricopa County had only one site per every 21,000 voters.

Chris Roads, Pima County’s registrar of voters, said the Pima County had 130 polling places open for this election. That’s more than double the 60 polling places that were open in Maricopa County, where huge lines plagued polls and some people had to wait hours to vote.

Ballots had to be rushed to one Phoenix site amid overwhelming voter demand, and witnesses say an elderly woman fainted while waiting in a long line in Maricopa County, which had fewer than half as many polling sites as much smaller Pima County.

Here are the latest updates from our team throughout the day and night Tuesday:

After 11 p.m.: Voting until the bitter end

More than four hours after polling places closed, hundreds of people were still in line to vote at the Salvation Army office on Third Avenue in downtown Phoenix.

Aracely Calderon, 56, was the last person to get in line in time to vote at the site.

She made it just seconds before a volunteer began enforcing the site's closing shortly after 7 p.m.

When Calderon arrived, the line spanned more than 700 people and almost 4 blocks.

"I'm here to exercise my right to vote," she told The Republic about half an hour before midnight.

Calderon, who migrated from Guatemala, became a U.S. citizen in 2012 and first voted in that year's election.

Despite the races being called in favor of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hours before, the right to vote was "very important" and an "emotional" experience for her.

"I'm going to go home very happy and satisfied because it really is a joy to be able to vote," she said. "I'm from Guatemala and I never thought I'd get to see the day where I would have the right to vote."

As the line dwindled, Calderon stepped inside the building minutes before midnight. There were still a few people in front of her in line to vote.

She had been waiting five hours.

About 12:12 a.m., she finally cast her vote.

— Ricardo Cano

REPLAY: azcentral election show

9:15 p.m.: Maricopa County had one polling site for every 21,000 voters. 

Maricopa County voters faced long lines, and some people had to wait hours to vote.

Most counties surveyed by The Arizona Republic had enough polling places to average 2,500 or fewer eligible voters per polling site, Maricopa County had only one site per every 21,000 voters.

Apache County had 41 polling locations for nearly 35,000 eligible voters. Navajo County had 38 polling locations for roughly 42,000 eligible voters. Maricopa County: 60 locations for 1.25 million voters.

Here’s the list of the counties with eligible voters in this election and the number of polling places.

— Caitlin McGlade

Here's a breakdown by county, number of voters number of polling locations:

9 p.m. Voters stayed to cast ballots after races are called

People were tired, their legs hurt from standing, but still they waited in line at a Tempe polling place to cast their vote more than two hours after the polls closed and even though the Associated Press had projected the winners.

A Tempe crowd cheered for first-time voter Yubicela Brito, 22. She exited the polls shortly after 9 p.m. wearing an "I voted" sticker on her forehead and yelling support for the voters still waiting.

"I waited here at this poll in Tempe for about three hours," she said, grinning. "It was brutal. I'm so excited to finally be able to cast my vote."

— Dianna M. Náñez

8:35 p.m. Voters leave, return later only to face long lines

At North Scottsdale United Methodist Church, at Scottsdale and Cactus roads, about 175 people remained in line more than an hour after polls officially closed.

Most seemed to be in a fairly good mood, even as they reported waiting for up two hours as the line wound around the church and into the parking lot.

An overtired and hungry baby wailed. Cars overflowed the church parking lot and parked throughout the small side streets that surrounded the church.

Several residents said this was the second or third time they had attempted to vote today.

"I came earlier today," said James Charm of Scottsdale. "Waited in line for more than 90 minutes and had to go back to work."

Susan Pack, also of Scottsdale, was in line with her daughter, Sophia, 10. They had trouble finding a parking spot and almost didn't make it before the 7 p.m. cut off.

"We were running to get here by 7," she said, adding she had also come to the polling station three different times. "They turned a lot of people away. They were saying, 'One minute (to get in line). I felt bad, but I understand rules are rules."

Several at the station questioned the county's decision to cut the number of polling stations.

— Ginger Rough

8:19 p.m. AP: Clinton, Trump projected to win Arizona presidential primary

8:07 p.m. Voters still in line waiting to cast ballots

There were more than 400 people waiting to vote at the South Mountain Community Center when the polls closed at 7:00, and the line snaked around the building. Cars jockeyed for position in the center’s parking lot and along Alta Vista Road.

“It’s been like this since six this morning,”  poll worker Lorna Guffin said.

The last person in line was Cassandra Smith, 45, who said she had been trying to find a parking space since 4:30 in the afternoon.

Two county workers stood behind her to make sure that no one else snuck into line after her.

The crowd was surprisingly jovial and upbeat, and the overall mood leaned toward former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton..

Yesenia Alvarez, 24, was voting in her first-ever election.

“Because we don’t want (Republican candidate Donald) Trump to win,” she said, emphatically.

Her mother, Gloria Alvarez, who does not speak English, but has been a citizen and a voter for six years, waited in line beside her.

— Michael Kiefer

7:22 p.m. Hundreds in line as polls close

About 400 were lined up at a polling site in Gilbert.

Jennifer Wilson arrived at 7 p.m. and was the last in line. Poll workers announced "Polls are officially closed. Everyone in line gets to vote."

Wilson, 33, a Gilbert mom, was not stressed.

"I should have come this morning, but I had a lot going on with my kids."

The line was more than a half-mile long near 4th and Glendale avenues  in Phoenix when the polls closed.  Voters near the front of the line said they have been waiting to vote for just over three hours.

Joe Oddo, 62, of Phoenix, said he has voted at the Church of Beatitudes precinct for 25 years and never has waited longer than 15 minutes to cast a ballot. He waited 3½ hours until he voted tonight.

"This is unconscionable," he said. "Somebody must be accountable for this."

Despite the long, tiring wait, Oddo said that he chatted with fellow voters and the mood never turned testy. Volunteers passed out water bottles and Kind snack bars.

"The people here have been wonderful," he said.

At Pyle Adult Recreation Center in Tempe, a poll worker estimated between 500 to 600 were in line when the polls closed.

Over an hour after cutoff time, the line at Deer Valley Worship Center, looped in and out of corridors with more than 400 antsy voters in line. The unfortunate individual at the very of the route, was Ginger Gossen, 56.

She had gotten in line wearing heels at about a 6:45 p.m. When she saw that her night would be dedicated to waiting in line, she quickly went home to grab shoes more suitable for the job.

“I’m here to vote. I’m not leaving anytime soon,” she said.

— Dennis Wagner, Ken Alltucker, Dianna M. Náñez and Yihyun Jeong

7:21 p.m. Maricopa County Recorder apologizes for long lines

7:03 p.m. Pima County has twice as many polling sites as Maricopa

Chris Roads, Pima County’s registrar of voters, said the Pima County had 130 polling places open for this election. That’s more than double the 60 polling places that were open in Maricopa County, where huge lines plagued polls and some people had to wait hours to vote. Maricopa County has about four times the number of voters eligible to vote in this year’s presidential primary than Pima does.

Pima County made the decision to keep its regular polling places open, rather than have fewer, regional centers like Maricopa County did, he said.

This meant that Pima voters had to go to their own polling place and didn't have the option vote at any polling place in the county – as voters did in Maricopa County. However, the more polling places that are open, the more people that can be accommodated without long wait times, Roads said.

Roads said the decision to have 130 polling places open was made by the Elections Department in conjunction with the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

— Rob O'Dell

6:30 p.m. Witnesses say elderly woman faints earlier today while in line

Phoenix resident Tim Andert, 60, waited an hour and 40 minutes to cast his ballot at the Maryvale Church of the Nazarene on 51st Avenue late this morning.

He said there were a lot of cars before noon that drove in but left because there was no parking. One elderly woman fainted, he said. Phoenix Fire Department arrived and gave the woman water.

“She refused to leave,” Andert said. “They brought out a ballot for her to vote.”

Andert said there was a good mix of demographics at the location, but noted that “many young people left the line because they left for lunch but didn’t have the time to vote.”

Not all voting sites were packed, however. Poll lines Tuesday evening in Flagstaff were short, making the process smooth for last-minute voters.

One of the more popular poll sites, Flagstaff Federated Community Church, had its highest peak at about 2 p.m., volunteer Mansel Nelson said, with about a 30-minute wait. A few people were showing up to vote after 5 p.m. but no more than four or five at a time.

Coconino County had 26 polling locations, and the longest line that the county recorder had heard of was a 45-minute wait at the health department at about 4:30 to 5 p.m. The rest of the locations throughout the day just had clusters of five or six people at time, County Recorder Patty Hansen said.

— Christopher Silavong, Yihyun Jeong and Caitlin McGlade

4:45 p.m.: Ballots rushed to poll that ran out 

At Church of the Beatitudes, at 7th and Glendale avenues, poll workers ran out of ballots late Tuesday afternoon. One poll worker emerged to give the news to voters who were in line. One voter said she overheard election workers say they had sent for more ballots, but they finally arrived and voting began again.

Many voters at that location had been in line for three hours. The lines at this polling place continued to get longer as the day went on.

4:40 p.m. Scottsdale woman votes outside city for first time in 55 years

Nellie Schwartz has voted in Scottsdale every year during the 55 years she has lived in South Scottsdale. That is until this year.

Four of Scottsdale’s five polling places were located in the north of the city — two near Cactus Road and two further north — making it longer than a 15 minute drive for her.

“This is the first time I’ve voted outside Scottsdale,” Schwartz said. “I lived in this house 56 years in October.”

Schwartz, 84, voted on the Salt River Indian Reservation on McDowell Road. Although she could make it to the polling place, which was about 10 minutes away, she said some of her friends would not be able to because they can’t drive and would have to take a cab.

Schwartz said she waited 45 minutes outside the polling place Tuesday morning and then another 10 minutes inside before casting her vote. She said it was worth it because she has always believed that voting is a privilege.

“Nothing would keep my father from voting. If he had to walk in the rain, he’d do it,” she said.

— Rob O'Dell

3:50 p.m.: Democratic party urging voters to not get frustrated by long lines

Arizona Democratic Party officials are urging voters to stay in line and cast their ballots after party officials said they heard reports of "large numbers of complaints" from polling places.

Executive Director Sheila Healy encouraged voters, in a statement Tuesday, to fill out provisional ballots if they encounter problems in their registration. Healy said the party will be compiling stories for a complaint to election officials.

2 p.m.: Surge in provisional ballots clogging polls

As of 12:50 p.m., there were 8,200 provisional ballots cast, said Elizabeth Bartholomew, communications manager for the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, which conducts the election.

That compares to 40,000 provisionals in 2008 in the presidential primary, she said.

Election officials were reporting a surge in provisional ballots as independent voters showed up at the polls.

Other voters got provisional ballots, too. Josh Doster of Phoenix,  a registered Democrat, he was forced to cast a provisional ballot because he had moved and his driver’s license had a different address than where he was registered. He voted this morning at a library in Anthem.

Poll workers didn’t want to let his wife vote in the primary despite having her voter identification card and mailings from the election’s office with her current address, he said. Ultimately, they let her vote normally and had him cast a provisional, he said.

— Rob O'Dell

12:44 p.m. Independent voters showing up polls

Complicating the confusion at the polls today is the large number of registered independents who are showing up, leading to a surge in provisional ballots.

“These are independent voters,” Maricopa County Elections Director Karen Osborne said. “They refuse to not vote, and federal law requires they be given a ballot.”

But if the voter casting the provisional ballot is determined to not be registered with one of the three parties, their vote will not count.

“In Coconino County, they’re handing them out like candy,” Osborne said of the provisional ballots.

— Mary Jo Pitzl

12:27 p.m. County reduced polling places in money-saving move

Maricopa County shifted to 60 polling places from the 200-plus that were in play during the 2012 presidential primary as a cost-saving move and to reflect the reduced demand on in-person voting given the continued rise in voters who mail in their ballots.

In contrast to four years ago, voters can go to any polling place on the list of 60 sites.

“It saves a lot of money,” said Elizabeth Bartholomew, communications manager for the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, which conducts the election. 

— Mary Jo Pitzl

11:28 a.m.: Voters report waiting 90 minutes or more in line

More than 200 people were in line at the American Legion Post 35 on Chandler Boulevard west of Dobson Road in Chandler..

"I'm very surprised at this line. I think they should have more polling places. People are going to give up," Dwight Thayer of Chandler said.

The wait didn't surprise Nick Nicholls, though.

"I was kind of expecting (long lines) with what's been happening around the country," he said. "People are coming out to vote and that's good."

Carol Houselog, who worked a polling place at Seventh Avenue and Glendale Avenues, said she was surprised by the long lines at the church. Houselog has worked several elections.

“I’ve never, ever seen a turnout like this even for a regular election, much less a primary,” Houselog said. “I am stunned.”

— Chris Coppola and Ken Alltucker

11:04 a.m.: Love for Sanders, Clinton at Maryvale voting site

There was an outpouring of support for Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton  at the Maryvale Church of the Nazarene in west Phoenix.

Anahi Barraza, 21, voted for Sanders “because of his stance on immigration and how he wants to take on Wall Street.”

Barraza, who said her biggest issue this election is immigration, said Clinton “embodies a politician perfectly.”

“She just says what the people want to hear and she tiptoes around a lot of things,” Barraza said.

Roberto Fuentes, 26, said he voted for Sanders “because of everything he stands for – not taking big donors, working for the people and with the people and providing free universal higher education.”

Sandra Hernandez, 48, cast her vote for Clinton because of her foreign policy credentials. But, had more states  “felt the Bern” this primary, it could’ve been different, she said.

“I love Bernie Sanders,” Hernandez said. “I love him. But right now, I’m being a little realistic."

— Ricardo Cano

10:03 a.m.: Confusion over where to vote  

Some people in south Phoenix are complaining that their normal polling place is closed, causing confusion.

The line to vote at South Mountain Community Center stayed about 35 to 40 people deep past 10 a.m.

Bobbie Hawkins, 69, said she was frustrated after going to the wrong location and planned to pass by the community center where she normally votes to let other people know where to go.

"My time is valuable," she said.

Maricopa County has 60 polling sites open today, and voters can go to any one of them. Here's a link to the county's elections website that locate the three polling sites closest to a user's mobile phone. The list of sites and the link to the poll locator is available on the county website.

— Brenna Goth

9 a.m.: Not all voting sites are crowded  

There were more candidates than there were voters just before 9 a.m. at the Queen Creek Public Library polling station.

Voters walking from the parking lot were approached by local town council members, judges, state Legislatures or their wives and  other representatives, each carrying a smile and a clipboard, ready to discuss why they should be elected.

Voters seemed unperturbed by the candidates as they navigated around their way to the voting booths.

Carlos DeLacruz, 66, said he is a registered Democrat and voted for Bernie Sanders.

“I just like what he’s saying,” he said. “He is taking a strong stand on Iran and Iraq…and he is taking on Wall Street.”

DeLacruz said his biggest issue in the election is “defeating Donald Trump.”

His wife, Jacqueline DeLacruze, 53, said that Trump’s hateful rhetoric poses a threat to the nation.

But she said she is voting for Hillary Clinton because of her experience and her ability to intelligently address the issues.

— Robert Anglen

8 a.m.: Long lines greet voters in Phoenix

Some polling sites reported long lines early Tuesday morning. About 50 people waited to vote around 8 a.m. at a polling place at 3rd Avenue and Fillmore Street in central Phoenix.

— Caitlin McGlade

Tuesday: How to vote in the primary

Arizona's presidential primary is open only to people who are registered with either the Democratic, Green or Republican parties. Independents can't vote.  Polls are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Maricopa County has 60 polling sites, and voters can go to any one of them. A link on the county's elections website will locate the three polling sites closest to a user's mobile phone. The list of sites and the link to the poll locator is available on the county website.

— Mary Jo Pitzl

Reporters Mary Jo Pitzl, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Rebekah L. Sanders, Brenna Goth, Caitlin McGlade, Ricardo Cano, Chris Coppola, Ken Alltucker, Michael Kiefer, Dennis Wagner, Alia Rau, Rob O'Dell, Christopher Silavong, Yihyun Jeong, Ronald J. Hansen, Diana Nanez, Ginger Rough and Rafael Carranza contributed to this story.