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Problems with machines at some voting locations in Maricopa County, home to more than half of Arizona’s voters, became grist for prominent right-wing voices who deny the legitimacy of the 2020 election to claim without evidence that Tuesday’s vote was also fraudulent.
Tabulators at about 20 percent of the 223 voting locations in the county were experiencing problems, county officials told The . Elections officials were fixing the problems and advised voters to either wait for tabulators to come back online, go to another voting location or to drop ballots in secure slots. Ballots dropped in the slots are counted either at the end of the day or in the coming days at the county’s tabulation center in downtown Phoenix, said Megan Gilbertson, spokesperson for the county’s election department.
County officials stressed that no one was being prevented from voting and that no one’s ballot had been mishandled. They have said for weeks that ballot counting could take as many as 12 days.
Advice for Voters: If a tabulator is not working at a site, you can still vote! You have the option to cast your ballot and place it into the secure ballot box. The poll workers on site at the voting location are best equipped to help you ensure your ballot cast. pic.twitter.com/iobrOHmy86
Gilbertson said technicians are still working to determine why the tabulators are not properly working.
“Right now we’re focused on making sure that voters are able to participate today and we can have further conversations tomorrow and in the future … as we look to find that root cause,” she said.
More than 103,000 people have voted at polling locations as of Tuesday afternoon with some sites experiencing lines. About 75 vote centers had less than 10 minute wait times, Gilbertson said.
Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor, lambasted the county for the problems but bristled at a question about whether she had grounds to say the results wouldn’t be accurate.
