Group seeks court order for plan to manage voter wait times in primary

PHOENIX — A group of attorneys wants a judge to order Secretary of State Michele Reagan to craft a plan to ensure next month’s primary is not beset by the same problems that plagued the presidential preference election.

In an emergency motion filed Thursday, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law pointed out that Maricopa County election officials set up just 60 polling places for the March election. The result was some voters having to wait five hours to cast a ballot.

Attorneys for the group also said Reagan shares the blame, saying Arizona law makes her responsible for minimizing voter wait times.

The group first raised those issues when they filed suit a month ago. But now they want Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Hugh Hegyi to order Reagan and County Recorder Helen Purcell to come up with a “comprehensive election administration plan” ahead of the Aug. 30 primary and the Nov. 8 general election.

That plan would include the number of polling places and an explanation of how that figure was determined. Challengers also want a contingency plan if wait times exceed 30 minutes at any site as well as what will be done to tell people how and where to vote.

And they want that plan in place by July 30. Kristen Clarke, president of the lawyers’ group, said that’s why she is asking for an emergency hearing.

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Both the state and county will need time to respond. Then the judge will have to conduct a hearing and, if he orders Reagan and Purcell to craft the plan, give them enough time to meet that July 30 deadline.

The lawsuit does not seek similar plans from the other 14 counties which did not have the same waiting times.

But the outcome of the legal fight could have statewide implications.

It would put the secretary of state on notice that she or he is ultimately responsible for ensuring that elections, traditionally run by counties, go off without a hitch. And that could mean putting that person on a collision course with county officials who might want to run their elections in a different manner — and perhaps with fewer polling places.

Matt Roberts, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, said he has no comment on the pending litigation.