Maricopa County election officials writing off voters? You bet
For weeks, some Democrats have been sounding the alarm about not enough polling places in Maricopa County for Tuesday's presidential primary.
They warned that reducing the number of polling places from 200 during the 2012 primary election to 60 would mean long lines and discourage people from voting.
They said the fact that some predominantly Latino areas got one or none polling places essentially translates into voter suppression.
Before, it was easy to dismiss their claims as pure conspiracy theories. It was difficult to fathom that Maricopa County election officials would purposely design a plan to keep people, especially minorities, away from the polls.
Well, think what you may. But the fact is that voting on Tuesday turned into long waits and traffic nightmares near some polling places, proving their case.
Throughout the day, voters seemed relatively patient and determined to exercise their right to vote, which is good. We must applaud them.
“In my district, there is only one polling place,’’ Sen. Martin Quezada said in a written statement. “In my neighboring district, LD 30, there are no polling places.”
Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, in charge of overseeing the election, told reporters she was sorry people were upset but didn’t offer solutions.
On Monday, she told La Voz Arizona reporter Laura Gómez that she took into account several factors to have fewer polling places, including allowing people to vote anywhere instead of a designated one.
“We were looking for locations that were larger so we could have more people in them,” Purcell said. “We decided that you could go anyplace which we’ve never done before.
"So we looked at an area, and factored into that how many early ballots we usually get in that area and how many people normally vote at the polls. We didn’t look at it as legislative districts. We looked at the overall picture of our voters.”
So, it is no coincidence many poor and predominantly Latino areas didn’t get a polling place. Purcell and her staff figured few of them vote anyway.
She just decided to discount them. Really.
Let’s be clear. This mess affected all voters in Maricopa County, not just minorities.
Waiting in line for hours to cast a ballot is not acceptable. Writing off voters regardless of previous voting patterns is not acceptable. Are we going to see the same in November?
Elvia Díaz is an editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her @elviadiaz1.
Our View: A five-hour wait to vote in Arizona primary? That's shameful