Polls were supposed to close at 7pm local time for today’s Arizona presidential primary. However, just minutes before close, lines at some polling places were still reporting lines of hundreds, with waits of two hours.
Via Miami Herald:
Minutes before the polls close in Arizona’s presidential primary, lines at some polling places are still hundreds of people deep with waits of two hours.
At a downtown Phoenix polling place, crowds lined around the salvation army building and halfway down the block. A couple passed out drinks and snacks to voters.
Voters like 49-year-old Bruce Weiss were incredibly frustrated. He’d been waiting for 2 ½ hours and called the experience “like a complete total failure of government.”
Toni Stamps says she was actually glad to be in line and cheered by the huge turnout.
All along the line, the mood was cheerful frustration.
That included 31-year-old Nicole Underwood, who was passing out snacks because she believes it’s her civic duty.
Among the treats: circus animal cookies, because “that’s appropriate.”
Anyone in line when polls close at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
Similar challenges have been reported in Utah, where caucus locations are reportedly running out of ballots due to massive turnout.
Should anyone be surprised by this by now?
While the overwhelming turnout is indeed good news for voter engagement (even if the reason for the engagement may be anger), it likely means we’ll all be looking at getting final results later than we expected tonight.
[Note: This article was written by Michelle Jesse, Associate Editor]