Malfunctioning voting equipment and the lack of a back-up plan led to 62 polling locations opening late for the Aug. 28 primary election, the Maricopa County auditors concluded. The Maricopa County Internal Audit Department conducted a review of the election-day mishaps and found they were tied to the county’s electronic voter check-in and ballot printing system, which was first used in the November 2017 municipal elections and the special election for Congressional District 8 in February. The review found that the county’s electronic voter check-in system, SiteBooks, which was used at all 463 polling locations and 40 vote centers, didn’t work at the polling locations that opened late. The Recorder’s Office denied many of the auditor’s findings, which were made public Sept. 21.
According to the report, which included the Recorder’s Office’s response to the auditors’ recommendations, the Recorder’s Office said it had already addressed many of the issues the auditors brought up.
The Recorder’s Office challenged the auditors’ claim that the office didn’t have a contingency plan in place in case equipment malfunctioned.
The office said that had it not been for 40 voting centers, places where voters from any precinct can drop their ballots, the office would not have handled the record turnout.
Full Article: Audit: election mishaps due to faulty equipment, no backup plan – Arizona Capitol Times.