Judge Rejects GOP Request to Extend Poll Hours over Maricopa Tabulator Problems
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has rejected a Republican coalition’s request to extend poll hours in Maricopa County, Ariz., after the county faced tabulator problems at 25 percent of its polling locations on Election Day.
Polls closed at 7 p.m. local time. The Republican group filed an emergency motion to extend poll hours until 10 p.m. The judge said it would be “impossible” to extend voting hours so late in the day; the ruling was issued just five minutes before polls were set to close.
The judge also noted that voters had several alternatives, such as voting at another polling place or putting the ballot in “box 3” for counting later.
“No voters…have been prevented from submitting a ballot,” the judge said.
The coalition includes the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Republican Party of Arizona and the campaigns of GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters and GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
“The RNC is joining a Republican coalition to file an emergency motion to extend poll hours in Maricopa County because voting machines in over 25% of voting locations have experienced significant issues,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “The widespread issues – in an election administered by Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs – are completely unacceptable, especially as Republicans flock to the polls to vote in-person on Election Day.”
Officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County said Tuesday afternoon they had “identified a solution” after tabulators at 25 percent of the county’s 223 voting stations were glitching earlier today.
“County technicians have changed the printer settings, which seems to have resolved this issue. It appears some of the printers were not producing dark enough timing marks on the ballots,” the county recorder’s office said this afternoon.
Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer apologized to voters for the issue and said, “Every legal vote will be tabulated. I promise.”
Chairman of the Maricopa County board of supervisors Bill Gates told Vice News he does “not see a reason” to keep polls open until 10 p.m.. He said he has not heard any specific examples of disenfranchised voters from tabulation problems but said the county will follow any court orders that are issued.
The RNC said long lines have been observed at polling places in the county.
“Additionally, individuals leaving impacted voting locations to vote elsewhere are not being checked out of the poll book, which makes voting at the other location problematic,” the RNC said in a statement.
The group noted it previously sued the county in early October for refusing to share their partisan poll worker breakdown and failing to hire a sufficient number of Republican election workers.
Lake, who has touted former president Trump’s false allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, seemed to suggest earlier today that the tabulator problems may be the result of partisan interference.
“Do you think this is normal guys? My question is, do you think what’s happening here in Maricopa County is normal? We have had problems after problems,” Lake said to reporters.
“I hope it’s not malice. But we’re gonna win. And when we win, there’s gonna be a come to Jesus for elections in Arizona,” she said.
