After a frustrating day at the polls Tuesday, voters were left asking what exactly went wrong and who was to blame. Voters were delayed and detoured for hours when dozens of polling places failed to open on time during Maricopa County’s primary election, and technical issues with electronic voting machines abounded across the county. A document The Arizona Republic obtained from the county Wednesday reveals some of the problems could have stemmed partly from a misunderstanding between the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and the contractor it hired to set up electronic voting systems at the polls.
The rest of the mess, election experts say, could have stemmed from a lack of election resources and backup plans.
The county’s repeated election-day issues — in 2012, 2014, 2016 and this year —represent a more systemic failure on the county’s part to provide proper election staffing and funding, said Jeff Mason, a former contract business systems analyst for the Recorder’s Office.
“They aren’t being given the tools they need to succeed,” Mason said.
Full Article: Maricopa County election issues may have stemmed from misunderstanding.