Voters became angry on Election Day in Maricopa County after they showed up at the polls and found them closed already. Grassroots conservative activist Merissa Hamilton reported Tuesday evening that dozens of voters said they were told by the Maricopa County Recorder’s office that the polls closed at 7 p.m. However, eight polling locations closed at 4:30 p.m., which is “at least 17 percent” of the county’s locations, according to Hamilton who denounced it as “complete voter disenfranchisement!” Since Republicans are far more likely to vote in person on Election Day than Democrats, it disproportionately affected them.
Hamilton said on X, “ABSOLUTE CHAOS ON ELECTION DAY IN @MARICOPACOUNTY (AGAIN). Per dozens of voters @RecordersOffice told people they could vote until 7pm @ PV. It closed @ 430. Several voters say they can’t vote now. We’ve talked to hundreds of voters tonight to redirect them to new locations.”
ABSOLUTE CHAOS ON ELECTION DAY IN @MARICOPACOUNTY (AGAIN)
Per dozens of voters @RecordersOffice told people 📞 they could vote until 7pm @ PV
It closed @ 430
Several voters say they can't vote now
We've talked to hundreds of voters tonight to redirect them to new locations pic.twitter.com/uBSHl2zEh7
— Merissa Hamilton 🗳 ⛽ 🗽🔥 (@merissahamilton) November 8, 2023
The county sent out election materials that said the polls would be open until 7 p.m. Hamilton posted a photo of the notice, and commented, “That was a lie.”
Although some voters were able to figure out that other locations were still open, some may not have, and others who had limited time may have not had the time to look into the problem, figure out where else to go, and drive there.
Hamilton and others from the activist group EZAZ interviewed some of the stressed out voters. A man named John said on video that after he got to a closed location, he found another one that allowed drop-off ballots and drove there next. But even though he got there right before 7 p.m., as he started to walk in the door, the workers told him they were closing. “I’m very upset about it, they took my vote away,” he told Hamilton.
A man named Steve showed up at a polling location right before 7 p.m. that had closed early. Since it was so close to 7 p.m., he did not have time to drive to another location and was unable to vote. “I’m going to refer this to legal counsel,” he said. Similarly, a woman named DeeAnn said she arrived at a polling location at 6:56 p.m. with her ballot and her husband’s ballot but it had closed early. A man named Vince said on video that he also showed up right before 7 p.m. and had the same experience.
Voters in Phoenix were asked on their ballot five questions about bonds, including bonds for schools. All bond measures passed. Other cities in Maricopa County had similar questions on their ballots.
Hamilton posted a video of numerous voters driving and walking up to a polling location at Paradise Unified School District that had closed. Some of her team members remained there to help direct voters to other locations. In a video discussing all of the voters showing up, Hamilton said that it was “completely unacceptable” for multiple polling locations to close before people even got off of work. She said one voter told them that the county told them to go to the location after it had closed.
A man named Daniel said he called the county to ask where to go to vote, and when he arrived there, it was closed. Another man who lives in Scottsdale said he called at 2 p.m. and asked for the nearest polling location, and he showed up after 4:30 p.m. and it was closed. A woman named Vanessa who lives in Paradise Valley experienced a similar situation. One man said he called the county and no one answered.
Exacerbating the problem, some officials also stated the polls were open until 7 p.m. Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03), who is running against Kari Lake for the U.S. Senate, posted on X on Tuesday, “It’s Election Day, Arizona! Polls are open until 7pm. If you haven’t voted yet, get the job done: my.arizona.vote.”
Longtime Republican Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell was defeated by Democrat Adrian Fontes in 2016 in part due to a fiasco that occurred resulting in long lines at the polls earlier that year in the presidential preference election. Some candidates and other activists urged independents to vote in that election, apparently not realizing they were ineligible to vote since Arizona has closed primaries. Due to the barrage of independent voters, many who delayed the lines even longer once they were told they were ineligible and tried to figure out what to do, some voters waited in line as long as five and a half hours.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer angered voters last fall on Election Day by denying there were serious problems when Republicans were disproportionately disenfranchised due to the tabulators failing to read their ballots. Richer wasn’t around to oversee Tuesday’s election for at least part of the day, because he was at an event with other election fraud deniers speaking about their plans for election reform.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
