A Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit already suing over Arizona’s troubled presidential primary says the state’s top election officials should be required to have court-approved plans in place for how they’re going to manage the upcoming primary and general elections. The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a motion Thursday for a preliminary injunction calling for election administration plans to be submitted by the secretary of state and Maricopa County officials. In its lawsuit over the March primary, the group argues that countless Arizona voters were disenfranchised by the cutting of polling places to just 60 from about 200 in the 2012 presidential primary. The cut in polling places was one of the causes of lines that exceeded five hours in some locations.
“The relief we seek from the court can help ensure that all voters are able to participate in Maricopa’s electoral process free from unnecessary burdens and barriers,” Kristen Clarke, the group’s president and executive director, said in a statement.
The county recorder’s office and the secretary of state declined to comment specifically on the litigation and the latest filing. However, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office said county election officials design and implement polling places with the approval of county boards of supervisors.
Full Article: Courts should approve Arizona election plans, group says | Colorado Springs Gazette, News.