Why the AZ primary should be a wake-up call for voters

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Reports of voter suppression in Arizona’s primary election aren’t sitting well with countless voters who say they’re furious they didn’t get a chance to cast their ballots on Tuesday.

In Maricopa County, Arizona’s largest county (which includes Phoenix), lines at polling places were so long that some had to wait 3-5 hours to vote. The county’s elections department, which serves over 1.9 million registered voters, failed to provide an adequate number of polling locations for the region, and what ensued was chaos.

Oregon voter registration deadline is April 26

There were just 60 polling places in Maricopa County on Tuesday. That’s down from 200 during the 2012 primary, and 400 in 2008. What it boils down to is this: On election day this year, Maricopa County had just 1 polling site for every 21,000 voters.

With numbers like that, it’s no wonder people were stuck waiting 3-5 hours to cast their ballots. And when the polls closed at 7 p.m., many people already in line opted to stay put and make sure they were able to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

After 11 p.m., hundreds of voters were still waiting in line at the Salvation Army office in downtown Phoenix. But that was hours after national media outlets declared Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as victors in the state’s primary race.

“What?” one voter told the Phoenix New Times at 9:20 p.m. “Who declared that? We’re still waiting to vote.”

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders denounced long lines at Arizona polls, calling the situation “a disgrace”.

“People in the United States of America should not have to wait 5 hours in order to vote,” Sanders said in a press conference Wednesday. “We do not know how many thousands of people who wanted to vote yesterday in Arizona did not vote.”

Other candidates have yet to respond to reports of voter suppression in Arizona.

Despite long lines and what many called unreasonable wait times on Tuesday, the total number of election day votes in Maricopa County was strikingly low at 83,369. That’s down from 250,352 ballots cast during the primary in 2008.

While there was a spike in the number of people who voted early by mail this year compared to 2008, there was a stark decline in the number of election day voters.

So, what gives? On a day when voter turnout was exceptionally high, why were only 83,369 ballots cast? Remember, in Maricopa County, over a million people are registered to vote.

What is a provisional ballot?

The answer has been buzzing online since well before the polls closed on Tuesday: Provisional ballots.

Like many states, Arizona has a closed primary. That means, in order to vote, you must register with a political party. If you’re independent, you don’t receive a ballot.

Approximately 1.2 million people are registered as independent in Arizona. There are around 1.1 million Republicans and 900,000 Democrats in the state.

To inspire a large voter turnout, candidates often appeal to independents by informing them that they must switch their party affiliation to either Democrat or Republican in order to vote during a closed primary. Many choose not to affiliate themselves with a party, thereby foregoing their chance to participate in a primary.

But others who wish to cast a ballot can make the switch by changing their party affiliation in person, online or by mail. In Arizona, voters had until February 22 to change their party preference for Tuesday’s primary election.

What some say is most shocking about Arizona’s race is the fact that registered Democrats and Republicans were turned away by poll workers who claimed records showed they were either not registered or affiliated with another party.

“I drove 30 different people to the polls,” Shayna Stevens, executive director of the Arizona Students Association, told Cronkite News. “Seven of those people, I personally reregistered them into a party prior to the February 22 deadline, 5 of those people were given a provisional ballot, and that is unacceptable… When they show up to a polling place and they’re told that they’re registered as an independent, when I personally registered them to vote, there’s no way.”

Pima County resident Alisa Wolfe is one of countless people who claims her party affiliation was not accurately listed in voter files pulled up at the polls. Wolfe, who was confident in her status as a registered Democrat, took her case to the recorder’s office after a poll worker claimed she was registered with no party affiliation.

“I’m at the Recorder’s Office of Pima County… I’m going to try to find out why I was denied my legal right to vote today,” Wolfe said as she captured her experience on her cell phone.

It was there a clerk told Wolfe the last time she filled out a voter application the party affiliation section was left blank.

“But I can clearly see that it should have been Democrat,” the clerk realized as she pointed to the filled-in box on Wolfe’s application. “So I’m going to change it.”

Unfortunately for Wolfe, the damage was done; she was issued a provisional ballot.

And she wasn’t alone. While state leaders have not disclosed how many provisional ballots were cast during this year’s primary, dozens of voters posted videos similar to Wolfe’s or wrote online accounts detailing how their party affiliation was incorrectly listed in voter files at the polls.

Kelly Thornton, who worked at a voting center in Yavapai County on Tuesday, told reporters roughly 2/3 of voters who came to her precinct were mistakenly identified as independent by the election software.

Thornton said the county recorder’s office provided her with a script, telling voters listed as independent that their provisional ballots would not be counted in the overall vote.

So, what happens now? Thousands of people claim they were denied their constitutional right to vote in Arizona, whether it was due to excessive wait times at the polls or errors with party affiliations in voter files, which caused an indeterminately high number of provisional ballots to be cast.

On Wednesday, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton called for a federal investigation into whether election officials illegally put fewer polling locations in poor or minority-heavy areas.

A White House petition calling for an investigation into voter suppression and fraud in Arizona reached its goal of 100,000 signatures in just over 24 hours. Still, it’s hard to say what will come of Arizona’s results even if an investigation is initiated.

One thing is certain: Voters can learn valuable lessons from Arizona’s primary.

1. First things first, find out if your state has open or closed primaries.
2. If your state has closed primaries, consider registering with a political party to make sure you’re eligible to cast a ballot on election day. (You can always switch party affiliations after an election)
3. Should you choose to register with a party, make sure you submit your application before the deadline.
4. After the state processes your application, you will receive a voter registration card in the mail. Bring copies of that, your voter application and driver’s license with you on election day to ensure everything goes smoothly.
5. Check once, twice (or a million) times to make sure your online voter file accurately reflects the party you want to be affiliated with.
6. If you witness any potential instances of voter suppression on election day, be sure to report them to your county’s election office.
7. Follow along as officials determine how many polling places to establish in your state. In Maricopa County, news reports indicated there would be a reduced number of polling locations ahead of Tuesday’s election.

Registration deadlines for states with upcoming closed primary elections:

• Wyoming: Voters must register by March 25 for caucus on April 9
• New York: Voters must register by March 25 for primary on April 19
• Rhode Island: Voters must register by March 27 for primary on April 26
• Pennsylvania: Voters must register by March 28 for primary on April 26
• Delaware: Voters must register by April 2 for primary on April 26
• Maryland: Voters must register by April 5 for primary on April 26
• Kentucky: Voters must register by April 18 for primary on May 17
• West Virginia: Voters must register by April 19 for primary on May 10
• Connecticut: Voters must register by April 21 for primary on April 26
• Oregon: Voters must register by April 26 for primary on May 17
• New Mexico: Voters must register by May 10 for primary on June 7
• New Jersey: Voters must register by May 17 for primary on June 7
• California: Voters must register by May 23 for primary on June 7
• South Dakota: Voters must register by May 23 for primary on June 7
• Washington DC: Voters must register by May 23 for primary on June 14