State election funding cuts set stage for 60 polling sites

Editor's note: The story has been changed to correct an error. Clint Hickman is the Board of Supervisors chairman.

When Maricopa County elections officials rolled out their plan to use just 60 polling sites for the presidential primary, money was on their mind.

The year before, the Legislature had cut $4.5 million from the funding it is required to provide for the presidential preference election. It was one of many maneuvers the GOP-controlled Legislature took to balance the budget, and it came over the protests of elections officials statewide.

Although lawmakers and Gov. Doug Ducey earlier this year said they would reimburse the counties the full cost, the money had not appeared by February, when county Recorder Helen Purcell and Elections Director Karen Osborne rolled out their 60-poll plan.

"We have had, at your direction, to try and keep the [presidential] preference as cheap as humans can do," Osborn told the five supervisors. "I still, as we stand here, do not have the governor's signature on any bill that would fully fund what it is going to cost."

County supervisors seemed pleased with the plan, with Chairman Clint Hickman noting they had asked the elections officials "to be as frugal as you can."

Supervisor Steve Chucri lauded the two for their "innovative" plan, which introduced voting centers for the first time to Maricopa County. The centers consolidated the 200 polling sites used in the 2012 preference election and, unlike previous elections where voters had to go to a designated poll near their home, were open to voters from anywhere in the county.

Purcell's office said the move saved them about $900,000 to $1 million.

That offset the $2.4 million loss from the state budget cut.

Other counties took a proportional hit. But while Maricopa County's response resulted in far fewer polling places and long lines, that didn't happen elsewhere.

In Pima County, the next-populous county after Maricopa, Elections Director Brad Nelson proceeded with the maximum number of sites allowed by state law: 124. In addition, there were sites where people could drop off their early ballots. There were no long lines and no calls for investigations.

The state law that created the presidential preference election in 1992 stipulated counties had to cut the number of precincts by half, although they could go lower. Nelson opted for the highest number possible: half of the 248 sites that are used for the statewide primary and general elections.

The county's general fund fronted the money needed to stage the election, and Nelson said he is hopeful for full reimbursement, since there has been no opposition from lawmakers or Ducey.

Yavapai County made the switch to fewer polling sites in 2012, which resulted in cost savings that are now built into elections, said Recorder Leslie Hoffman. There were no long lines at Tuesday's elections, she said.

Hoffman is hopeful the Legislature will pass the reimbursement bill; until then, the county's general fund covers the election's cost.

Senate Bill 1486 and House Bill 2567 both call for $6.1 million to make the counties whole. The bills are stalled in the Senate.

The holdup has been another provision in the legislation: a proposal to end taxpayer funding for the election.

Legislative leadership likes the idea, which Secretary of state Michele Reagan has promoted, but Ducey has reservations. Last week, the governor called for opening up the preference election to all voters, including independents, which would strengthen the case for continued taxpayer funding since everyone could participate.

While lawmakers last spring were willing to short the counties their election funding, they made sure there would be enough money to stage the May 17 special statewide election, where Ducey's education-funding measure and a public-safety pension reform proposal are on the ballot. Last fall, they set aside $9.3 million to cover those election costs.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.