As Republicans warn of long lines on Election Day in Maricopa County, Arizona, local election officials also expect election results to be delayed. Republicans in Arizona and nationally say Maricopa County has not prepared enough for Election Day, which can lead to long lines and persuade eligible voters to avoid voting.

The potential problems on Election Day are compounded by the announcement by Maricopa County election officials that it will take 10-13 days to fully tabulate all ballots, meaning some races may not be called on Election Night.

Republican National Committee Counsel Harmeet Dhillon and Abe Hamadeh, the GOP candidate for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, sent a letter Thursday to the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, warning of potential delays and problems with voting . which could take place on election day.

“The county’s current plan, which already expects long lines on Election Day, is based on the unlikely expectation that voters will need a maximum of approximately 12 minutes to complete their ballots,” the letter states. “Our information is that voters will take, and now, take much longer to complete their ballots…mediation at least 15 minutes with a much higher maximum.”

The paper ballot for this year’s Maricopa County general election is two pages long and double-sided, which is a first. since 2006 that the ballot paper was longer than one page.

Maricopa County Director of Elections warned Scott Jarrett in September, the ballot tabulating machines may jam because two sheets of paper will be inserted instead of one. He said poll workers are getting extra training to know how to fix tab problems and allay voter concerns.

Dhillon and Hamadeh wrote that the county did not account for equipment failure in the time it took voters to cast their ballots. “There are multiple reports from the July 2024 Maricopa County primary election of a reoccurrence of printers jamming at vote centers, reminiscent of problems encountered in the 2022 general election when printers jammed at vote centers,” it said. it shows in the letter.

The letter also notes that there will be one less polling place “near Paradise Valley Community College, which had one of the highest voter turnout rates in the county” than in 2022.

“All of these data points are of great concern to us and others who want to ensure that voters who choose to vote on Election Day are not, due to avoidable circumstances, blindsided by long lines that may discourage them from casting their ballots “, she wrote.

Dhillon and Hamadeh called for “an emergency meeting” with the Recorder’s Office and the Council to “discuss practical ways to increase Maricopa’s ability to process voters on Election Day.

“Potential remedial efforts include deploying some of the backup voting machines, installing additional secret ballot booths, activating emergency locations, and a countywide effort to inform voters of the looming issues and the need to vote early or how to identify voting centers with shorter lines,” they continued.

Hamadeh shared the letter at X on Thursday, writing: “Today, I worked with the Republican National Committee to request an emergency meeting with Maricopa County to immediately review their flawed Election Plan. It doesn’t account for the time it takes voters to complete their FOUR-PAGE ballot, setting the stage for long lines and chaos on Election Day.

“I will not tolerate an electoral system that disregards the will of the people.”

The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Delays in results

While there are likely to be long lines to vote on election day in the county, election results are also expected to be delayed.

Election officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, said it likely would lasts 10-13 days to tabulate all the ballots cast in next month’s presidential election. Just over two million people in Maricopa County are expected to vote in the presidential election in two weeks, and more than 400,000 people have already voted early.

“It will take 10-13 days after Election Day to complete the tabulation of all ballots. Depending on how close the races are, contests may be called much sooner,” Liewer said. Just the news Wednesday.

Maricopa County explained Wednesday the reasoning behind the delay in a series of posts on X. “​While Maricopa County counts the vast majority of legal ballots by the end of Election Night, it often takes several days for the media to call certain races. Why is that? In Arizona, there are two main factors: state election laws and narrow margins of victory.” the county posted.

“Arizona law also provides a 5-day grace period for voters who did not provide sufficient identification when they voted in person or whose advance signatures are in question. Voters have all that time to prove their identity so their ballots can be verified and counted.” added the county.

“Arizona was not as competitive, politically, as it is now. In close contests, sometimes the last 1 or 2 percent of ballots to be counted will determine who wins.”

The county also included in one of the posts a image of a diagram from the 2022 election that showed the average number of days for all ballots to be tabulated in Maricopa County since 2006 to be 13 days.

Kari Lake, the GOP candidate for US Senate from Arizona, reacted to the Maricopa County announcement, explaining that election results should not be delayed for 10-13 days. Lake posted on X on Thursday, “Why do we have to wait 10 to 13 days for election results when a law was passed to prevent that?”

“In 2022, the Arizona Legislature authorized County Recorders to allow voters to tabulate their own advance ballots on Election Day, but for some reason the Maricopa County Recorder refuses to give voters that option. Why?? (…) Why doesn’t the Maricopa County recorder want to speed up the tabulation of advance ballots? Maricopa County should allow voters to self-tabulate their early voting ballots on Election Day. It is allowed by law and should be implemented for THIS election,” she said.

“Arizona should not have to wait 10 to 13 days for election results. America should not wait.” she added. Former Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright retorts Lake’s post with a screenshot and connection with the law that Lake referred to. “Good question, (Kari Lake)!” Wright posted.

The the law shown in the screenshot reads: “A qualified voter who presents himself at a voting center or polling station designated by the voter that allows the on-site tabulation of advance ballots with the advance ballot voted by the voter must present an identification document.. .”

Executive Director of the Honest Elections Project Jason Snead said Just the news early this month, there will likely be delays in election results if the race is close. He noted that Arizona is one of the swing states he is most concerned about.

Maricopa County, which is Arizona’s most populous county with 4.5 million citizens, needs “days and weeks to count the votes because so many are mail-in ballots” that voters are waiting to drop off at the polling stations on election day. Snead said. While Arizona allows ballots to be preprocessed before Election Day, “it almost doesn’t matter if that many people are able to cast ballots on Election Day.” he added.

Snead said Just the news last month, mail-in ballots should be required to “come in the day before Election Day or roll your own ballot with ID.”

Once news, now considered “disinformation”

As Republicans express concern about Maricopa County’s general election, The Washington Post published an article on Wednesday, which looked into “at least 236 Republican candidates (who) posted or amplified a series of falsehoods or misinformation about election misconduct.”

“Of the 48 percent of Republican candidates who promoted false or misleading information about the 2024 election … about two-thirds referenced noncitizen voting in connection with 2024 election fraud, about half referenced legal issues of Trump, and nearly a quarter discussed Harris’ nomination as a coup, undemocratic or disrespectful of the will of primary voters,” according to the media.

The Republicans who ranked first and seventh in the top 10 for publishing the most interference in the 2024 election are Lake and Hamadeh, respectively.

However, in 2018, The Washington Post published an article about “voting irregularities across the country” in the midterm elections.

“Reports of inoperable cars have surfaced in numerous states, including New York, California and Arizona.” THE Post the story is read. “There have also been complaints of voting machines overturning voters’ choices in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas and Illinois.

“Also, in Arizona, a judge refused to keep open some polling places in Maricopa County that had opened late. (​​Kristen) Clarke (then executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law before joining the Department of Justice) said voters were “disenfranchised” in Arizona as a result.