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Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022

Were Maricopa County voters affected by ballot processing issues required to use a provisional ballot to vote somewhere else?


no

A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Elections Department said Republican Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake was incorrect in suggesting that a provisional ballot would be used if voters affected by ballot processing issues went to vote elsewhere. As long as voters spoiled their initial ballot and were signed out of their first location, they were able to vote normally at any other location. It appears that if a voter was unable to sign out — as happened in at least one case reported on by The Arizona Republic — a provisional ballot was used.

The county attributed the ballot processing issue to a printing error that made ballot marks too light for voting machines to read. The issue was reportedly resolved by adjusting the printer settings.

The county also allowed affected voters to drop their ballots in a "secure slot" to be taken to a different facility for processing.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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