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Maricopa County says it had no way to know its ballot printers would fail.
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here. One big question Maricopa County voters had after many had trouble casting ballots at polling places in November’s election was whether county leaders should have seen the problem coming. The county continues […]
Amid push for hand-counting ballots, Republican senators emphasize legality, not practicality
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here. As they tour the state to try to convince county decision-makers to hand-count ballots in the upcoming presidential election, Republican lawmakers in Arizona are emphasizing one point: They believe it’s legal here. […]
As pressure mounts to fix Pinal County’s problems, elections director resigns
Pinal County’s elections director abruptly resigned this week after facing harsh criticism from the county GOP. Her scathing resignation letter led many to compare her departure to those of other elections directors across the country who are facing harassment and resigning in droves as GOP leaders and residents confront them with false accusations about elections. […]
Arizona elections would have fewer rules under Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ new manual
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is stripping down the giant rulebook that tells county officials how they must run elections in accordance with state law, a review of a partial draft shows. While his draft is still unfinished, Fontes told Votebeat he wants the Elections Procedures Manual to include only the rules he believes […]
‘It was a nightmare’: Pinal County builds new elections space
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here. Coolidge, Arizona — “You can’t even imagine,” Geraldine Roll said, standing in the room where the mistakes were made. “You really, really can’t.” Picture a dozen people, she said, weaving around one […]
No rules for Maricopa as it replaces faulty ballot printers, spends $8 million
Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free newsletters here. After relying on retail-grade printers to print hundreds of thousands of ballots on the spot and then experiencing a countywide Election Day breakdown, Maricopa County is planning on spending millions to buy […]
As Mohave County pursues a plan to hand-count all 2024 ballots, Secretary of State steps in
A day after supervisors in a northwestern Arizona county voted to request a plan to hand-count ballots in the 2024 presidential election, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes sent a letter to Mohave County supervisors on Tuesday telling them he is concerned that moving forward would break state and federal laws, potentially be insecure, and […]
After botching election results, Pinal County wants to try hand-counting ballots
After human error in Pinal County’s midterm election caused officials to initially fail to count hundreds of ballots, the county’s supervisors now want to try counting ballots by hand. The county’s midterm mistakes weren’t caused by ballot tabulation machines, but rather because workers programmed machines incorrectly and overlooked machine errors as votes went uncounted. A […]
Why Kari Lake is still in Arizona courts arguing the 2022 election was stolen
GOP candidates for Arizona’s top offices who claim the November election was stolen from them have spent months presenting shape-shifting arguments in court — and six months after races were called, they aren’t done. A Maricopa County judge on Monday granted losing GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake a trial on a claim initially made in […]
Pinal County’s election director saw glaring errors, cashed out, then fled
By the time Virginia Ross appeared before Pinal County’s supervisors one last time, she had already sold her house. The elections director just needed the supervisors to vote “yes” on Nov. 21, finalizing the November election, and she would be on her way to retirement. “I stand by the results,” she assured them. A lot […]
Cochise County hires elections director who has spread election misinformation
An Arizona county that refused to certify the 2022 election has hired a new elections director who repeatedly spread false claims about widespread election fraud. The Cochise County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 2-1 to hire Bob Bartelsmeyer, La Paz County’s elections director for the past year, to run the county’s elections, after he […]
Cochise County ready to hire elections director who spread false claims of 2020 election rigging
Cochise County is close to hiring an elections director who has repeatedly shared false claims about widespread election fraud on Facebook, including claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against former President Donald Trump. Bob Bartelsmeyer, currently the elections director in La Paz County, was chosen by Cochise County Recorder David Stevens for the […]