The Pima County Recorder’s Office has admitted that they printed the signature rosters intended for each polling place prior to the voter registration deadline. As a result, voters are being turned away from the pools because they are not in the old registration books.
In one Pima County precinct, according to reports, one out of every three voters was forced to cast a provisional ballot.
The Pima County GOP is consulting with attorneys about what they fear might be wide-spread voter repression in Pima County.
Initially, Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez, claimed that she didn’t know yet what caused so many to be left off the signature registration books. She told the Star that some of the cases in which a voter was forced to cast a provisional ballot could be explained by people who changed their addresses after the rosters were printed. The Star reported that Rodriguez said the yellow voter cards that people received by mail with their polling place listed went out several days after the rosters.
Rodriguez said that provisional ballots will be counted.
Rodriguez is being challenged in this General election by Republican Bill Beard.
The Recorder’s Office held an emergency staff meeting mid-day when it became apparent that polling sites were experiencing far higher than normal provisional ballots. By noon, the telephone system in the elections Division could not accommodate the call level.