Arizona election officials prepare for issues with lengthy 2-page ballots


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Arizona election officials put out a unique warning about possible issues at polling places. Officials expressed concern with delays as a majority of voters will be filling out a lengthy two-page ballot.

Eight of the battleground state’s 15 counties will have two pages. Maricopa County’s ballot alone is 17 inches long and has 79 contests listed for local, state and federal races. It also features statewide ballot propositions. 

The Maricopa County elections office put out a PSA video to remind its 2.6 million registered voters to return both pages.

Polling place concerns

Aside from concerns about voters not sending in the entire ballot, officials are also concerned about the amount of time it will take people to fill it out, which will lead to longer lines at polling places.

They estimate it will take 14 minutes or longer on average to fill out the ballot. 

Two-page ballots also mean there is a greater chance of paper jams when feeding the pages into machines.

Officials also worry that voters will make mistakes if they’re frustrated over the length of the ballot.

As many as 420,000 people are estimated to vote in person on Election Day, so they’re urging voters to cast their ballots early. 

Election doubts in Arizona

Since Donald Trump narrowly lost Arizona in 2020, there has been a lot of election skepticism in the state.

Now, Maricopa County election officials worry a second page on the ballot will fuel more criticism and misinformation.

Trump and his supporters said issues with electronic vote-counting machines were evidence of election fraud by Democrats.

Preparing for big turnout

County officials say they’re prepared for the heavy turnout on Election Day. Officials have spent millions of dollars to buy more voting machine equipment.

They’ve also hired more workers and created more work shifts, including on Thanksgiving Day when votes might need to be recounted in close contests. 

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Full story

Arizona election officials put out a unique warning about possible issues at polling places. Officials expressed concern with delays as a majority of voters will be filling out a lengthy two-page ballot.

Eight of the battleground state’s 15 counties will have two pages. Maricopa County’s ballot alone is 17 inches long and has 79 contests listed for local, state and federal races. It also features statewide ballot propositions. 

The Maricopa County elections office put out a PSA video to remind its 2.6 million registered voters to return both pages.

Polling place concerns

Aside from concerns about voters not sending in the entire ballot, officials are also concerned about the amount of time it will take people to fill it out, which will lead to longer lines at polling places.

They estimate it will take 14 minutes or longer on average to fill out the ballot. 

Two-page ballots also mean there is a greater chance of paper jams when feeding the pages into machines.

Officials also worry that voters will make mistakes if they’re frustrated over the length of the ballot.

As many as 420,000 people are estimated to vote in person on Election Day, so they’re urging voters to cast their ballots early. 

Election doubts in Arizona

Since Donald Trump narrowly lost Arizona in 2020, there has been a lot of election skepticism in the state.

Now, Maricopa County election officials worry a second page on the ballot will fuel more criticism and misinformation.

Trump and his supporters said issues with electronic vote-counting machines were evidence of election fraud by Democrats.

Preparing for big turnout

County officials say they’re prepared for the heavy turnout on Election Day. Officials have spent millions of dollars to buy more voting machine equipment.

They’ve also hired more workers and created more work shifts, including on Thanksgiving Day when votes might need to be recounted in close contests. 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,