Yvonne Wingett Sanchez

The Republic | azcentral.com

Voters waited hours in line to vote

County Recorder Helen Purcell has taken responsibility for the voting problems

Some of their voices weren't heard at the ballot box in Tuesday's presidential preference election. At the Legislature on Monday — often raised in shouts — they were heard loud and clear.

Hundreds of outraged voters packed the state House of Representatives to explain precisely how the abysmal handling of the election had affected them, in a rowdy hearing that had audience members shouting, cheering and jeering.

Young and old, White, Hispanic and Black, there were too many voters to fit into the hearing room typically occupied by lawmakers, lobbyists and Capitol insiders. So they spilled into four overflow rooms where they watched a broadcast of the House Elections Committee hearing. They also filled the hallway, drinking coffee, playing with toddlers they had brought along.

In the front row of the hearing room was Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell with Elections Director Karen Osborne, who was seen taking off her glasses and wiping her eyes mid-way through the hearing. Purcell caught flak from the audience when, after apologizing in her opening comments, she turned the podium over to the executive director of the Arizona Counties Association. Members of the crowd made it clear they wanted Purcell, an elected official, to do the talking.

Man arrested following rowdy election hearing

Inside the hearing room, they were unforgiving in their criticism.

Some were so angry, their voices shook and they slammed the podium.

"This is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue," one man screamed at the committee.

Another was sure it had all been a conspiracy to deny supporters of Bernie Sanders their vote.

One woman accused officials of getting caught discriminating by limiting polling places in south Phoenix — even though voting sites were limited countywide.

Others, who voted provisional ballots, asked if their votes were counted.

Many wanted Purcell, who presided over the bungled election, to step down.

“Helen Purcell, you really ought to resign,” said Redeem Robinson of Phoenix. “I mean, really, you should consider resigning after what you have done to the community.

“Also, I believe we should have an extra day of voting. How can we call a winner when there were thousands of people still in line? How does that happen? Someone please explain to me. This is voter suppression at its best. Helen Purcell, please do us all a favor: please resign.”

The crowd went wild.

Many call for election reforms, 1 more day of voting because of long lines

The special hearing was convened by House Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, to understand what led to the reduced number of polling sites and locations in a year when other states were experiencing record or near-record turnout.

Ugenti-Rita played referee as much as she played lawmaker as she struggled to control the crowd.

Two hours into the hearing, Reps. J.D. Mesnard, a Republican, and Jonathan Larkin, a Democrat, got into a shouting match when Mesnard accused his Democratic counterpart of injecting politics into the election day failures.

As they screamed at each other, the crowd shouted back at Mesnard: “You like 'dark money'!” -- a reference to a bill that would minimize the state’s role in regulating money from social-welfare non-profits that do not have to reveal their donors.

Secretary of State Michele Reagan, who oversees state elections but had no jurisdiction over Maricopa County’s decisions related to the presidential preference election, was heckled as she tried to appeal for understanding and promised to fix the process.

An electronic polling place locator wasn’t working properly and another system to help voters obtain information wouldn’t accept information that wasn’t entered in lower-case letters, she said. Reagan maintained her cool, saying she understood the frustration that media organizations had called the Democratic and Republican winners hours before the last voter cast a ballot.

Reagan revealed that even someone in her own office had problems casting a ballot because of inconsistencies, drawing laughter from many in the crowd.

“Call us any name in the book you want, but I want to hear the frustrations you experienced,” she told the audience. Some scoffed and shook their heads. “The best way we can change to make it better is to hear exactly what you experienced.”

Stay-at-home mom Misty Currier, 36, of Phoenix, passed time until her daughter testified by walking a Legislative hall with her son. Currier's daughter was voting for the first time in the preference election but had to cast a provisional ballot because her party affiliation was not correctly recorded, Currier said. Her daughter, Rochelle Richardson, was going to tell her story to the committee.

"We want to confirm that either her vote has been counted or there will be a re-vote," said Currier. "A revote would be great. We had to wait three hours, my friend was waiting five hours until midnight. We're being forced into the government process here. It's crazy. This is my daughter's first, she should be able to remember this as a momentous thing and it's waited for whatever reason and many people didn't even get a chance to cast a provisional ballot."

Krista Pacion, 39, watched the hearing from the hallway.

"It took me two hours and three tries to vote," she said, recounting her election day experience, which involved carrying her daughter in a wagon.

She said of the scene: "This is crazy. I've never seen this many people here. People are out in the hall, they're outside where they're broadcasting it. It's amazing."

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Heidi Bonfante, a teacher from Phoenix, took her government class to the Capitol to get a close-up view of democracy in action. Thirty-four students filled a portion of the hallway and watched TV screens.

"I want them to be actively informed, and be knowledgeable of what's going on. Rather than complaining about what's happening in government, I want them to be aware of what's happening in government."

Reginald Walton, a pastor from Phoenix, also called on Purcell to resign in a fiery two-minute speech.

“This is not a joke, this is not a game, the blood of the people’s hands is on you,” he said as Purcell looked on from the front row. “And I want us to all understand something — this is not a partisan issue, this is an American issue, it does not matter who your person or candidate was. This was a travesty of justice and made us an international laughingstock."

The crowd left the hearing after Ugenti-Rita ended it because lawmakers were scheduled take up state business on the floor of the House of Representatives, which had already been delayed so the hearing could continue. Many at the hearing protested the decision and screamed at committee members, "Resign, revote! Resign, revote! Resign, revote!"

Rep. Ken Clark, D-Phoenix, encouraged attendees to not go home, but to follow lawmakers to the House of Representatives. Some did, and a short time later, at least one man was physically carried out of the gallery by Department of Public Safety officials, who had repeatedly asked him to leave the building without creating a scene, a House Republican spokeswoman said.

Outside of the House of Representatives, voters held signs that read: “AZ is a DISGRACE!” and “WE WANT OUR VOTE COUNTED!"

Follow the reporter on Twitter, @yvonnewingett, and contact her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com.