Maricopa County taxpayers will have to fork over almost $400,000 to make up for a misprint on 2 million ballots in a May special election. Half of the money will come from the county recorder’s office budget, and the remainder will have to be approved by the County Board, recorder’s office spokeswoman Elizabeth Bartholomew told 12 News Monday. The botched ballots come in the wake of a presidential primary fiasco last month that saw hours-long waits in line. County Recorder Helen Purcell admited she “screwed up” by cutting the number of polling places by 70 percent from four years ago. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating what happened. Separate lawsuits have been filed in county and federal courts, alleging citizens were deprived of their right to vote.
The 2 million misprinted ballots were uncovered last week when mail-in ballots were sent out to early voters for the statewide special election May 17.
There are two propositions on the ballot: Prop 123, which which would funnel more money to schools from the state land trust fund; and Prop 124, which would tinker with pension rules for police and firefighters.
The Spanish-language title over the text explaining Prop 124, the pension measure, is the same as the title explaining Prop 123, the education initiative.
Full Article: Botched ballots will cost taxpayers $400,000 | 12NEWS.com.