Arizona has the highest search numbers for ballot problems
Nov 8, 2016, 3:26 PM | Updated: 3:27 pm
A voter carries in her mail in ballot to her polling station early, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
PHOENIX — Ballot problems have evidently been a big concern for Arizona voters during Election Day.
According to data from Google Trends, the number of searches for ballot problems Tuesday was three times higher in Arizona than anywhere else in the United States.
Arizona has highest search interest in ballot problems (3x the national average). Get more #Electionland datahttps://t.co/TsYBPqWaIq pic.twitter.com/3T9meiGILP
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) November 8, 2016
What is interesting, though, is that more Arizonas were searching for problems with provisional ballots while fewer were researching long voter wait times.
Concerns over provisional ballots were popular during the 2012 election, but long voter wait times have dominated headlines since March. During Arizona’s presidential preference election that month, some voters waited hours to cast a ballot.
Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell placed some blame on the voters for choosing to wait before walking back her statement in the days after the March election.
The Department of Justice opened an inquiry into the voter wait times after it was asked to do so by Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton.
Long voter wait times returned in the week building up to November’s general election. Some waits were caused by equipment malfunctions, while others were the result of understaffing after officials failed to accurately estimate the number of early voters.
The Department of Justice sent numerous employees to Arizona this week to ensure things were up to snuff at polling places in both Maricopa and Navajo counties on Election Day.
