Mary Jo Pitzl

The Republic | azcentral.com

Elections officials in Maricopa County and with the Arizona Secretary of State's Office should be barred from conducting future elections without judicial oversight, a lawsuit filed Thursday claims.

The suit, from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, cites the long lines at Maricopa County polls during the March 22 presidential-preference election and alleges the hours-long waits disenfranchised voters.

The suit, filed on behalf of two voters who were stuck in those lines or were discouraged by them, seeks judicial oversight for all elections up to and including the 2020 presidential-preference election. It also asks the Maricopa County Superior Court to determine that the voters' civil rights were violated.

“We need to ensure that all eligible voters are allowed to participate in our democracy and do not face unnecessary barriers to the ballot box," said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Washington D.C.-based group.

The suit names Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Secretary of State Michele Reagan.

This is the third suit filed since the March 22 fiasco, which resulted in voters standing in line well into the night. The last poll closed early the following day. In addition to the long lines, voters in March complained that a lack of parking spaces at many polling locations kept them from even getting in line.

Maricopa County set up 60 voting centers for the special election, allowing voters to go to any site to cast their ballot. In contrast, there were 403 polls for the 2008 preference election and 211 for 2012's contest. Voters were assigned to a specific location for those elections.

An early lawsuit that challenged the March 22 results was dismissed in April; a lawsuit filed by the Democratic National Committee is still active in U.S. District Court. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice has made inquiries of county officials about the election's conduct.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.