“Counties don’t see it that way,” Marson said.

And Rep. Ken Clark, D-Phoenix, pointed out that legislation Reagan proposed to restore funding was linked to eliminating future presidential primaries.

Tied up in all of this is the question of whether the shortage of polling places, coupled with where they were and were not located, violated the federal Voting Rights Act.

That law specifically prohibits states from doing anything that discriminates against minorities or dilutes or impairs their ability to vote.

Based on its prior history of discrimination, Arizona was one of nine states which had to submit any changes in voting laws to the U.S. Department of Justice for “preclearance.” That included changing the location and number of polling places.

In 2013, however, the U.S. Supreme Court voided that preclearance requirement.

Clark suggested to Purcell that her decision to set up just 60 polling places never would have met with Department of Justice approval.

Purcell, in acknowledging the rest of the anti-discrimination provisions of the Voting Rights Act remain, conceded she never considered whether the sharp drop in places to vote might have violated the law.