The Republican National Committee is seeking a three-hour extension to voting hours in Maricopa County, Arizona, after a problem with vote tabulators led to increased scrutiny and long voter lines in the state’s most populous county.
A judge in Maricopa County called an emergency hearing late Tuesday with only hours before the polls in the Grand Canyon state closed but declined to extend the deadline, according to Politico reporter Kyle Cheney.
HAPPENING NOW: Emergency hearing in Maricopa County about claims of voting tabulator issues. RNC seeking a 3 hour extension of voting hours. County and Kelly cmapaign saying the complaint is nonsense, voting centers have been open and operational all day with limited issues.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 9, 2022
Officials in Maricopa County said they were experiencing difficulties with vote tabulators at about 20% of polling locations, according to the county elections department. The county’s Twitter account released a video showing elections board Chairman Bill Gates and County Recorder Stephen Richer explaining the problem and saying that uncounted ballots would be transported to a central location to be tabulated.
For good measure, the judge says “The Doctrine of Laches applies.” There’s no way to do anything legally at this point, even if he agreed with the RNC. But he didn’t.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 9, 2022
A campaign account for Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake sarcastically responded to the county’s tweet, saying, “So the votes get to be tabulated at a second location because you guys can’t do your jobs right. That makes us feel so much better.”
Maricopa County is Arizona’s most populous county and was the subject of election integrity questions following the 2020 election. Lake has loudly and repeatedly said that the 2020 election was stolen.
So the votes get to be tabulated at a second location because you guys can’t do your jobs right.
That makes us feel so much better.
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) November 8, 2022
Former president Donald Trump blasted the county’s struggles in a statement on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Maricopa County in Arizona looks like a complete Voter Integrity DISASTER. Likewise Detroit (of course!), Pennsylvania, and other places,” the former president said.
By Tuesday afternoon, Richer apologized for the county’s challenges.
“I am very sorry for any voter who has been frustrated or inconvenienced today in Maricopa County,” Richer said. “Every legal vote will be tabulated. I promise.”
The county reported that it had found a resolution to the problem by changing printer settings.
.@maricopavote has identified the solution for the tabulation issues at about 60 Vote Centers. 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 ballots. 1/
— Maricopa County (@maricopacounty) November 8, 2022
The RNC announced Tuesday evening that it filed an emergency lawsuit against the county in a bid to extend voting hours due to long lines at polling locations.
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“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. We have dozens of attorneys and thousands of volunteers on the ground working to solve this issue and ensure that Arizona voters have the chance to make their voices heard.”
