Phoenix, AZ – The fix is apparently in for the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries, after massive voter suppression was reported in the Arizona Democratic primary.
In 2012, Maricopa County had 200 polling locations open on primary day, but reduced the number of polling stations to only 60 for 2016.
The extreme reduction of polling locations served to create wait times of over 5 hours to cast a ballot; an extreme amount of time that working class citizens often don’t have the luxury of waiting.
Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, who was responsible for the reduction in polling places in 2016, attempted to justify her actions by claiming that voter turnout was traditionally low, so she simply reduced the number of polling locations to save money.
Indicative of something more nefarious afoot, Pima County, home to Tucson, had almost double the number of polling locations open compared to Maricopa County, even though Pima County is only approximately one-third the size.