Maricopa County Elections Department lays out plans for upcoming primary, general elections

Arizona is three months away from the Aug. 2 primary election and the Maricopa County Elections Department presented its plans for the upcoming primaries, and general election this November.

PHOENIX - Arizona is three months away from the Aug. 2 primary election and the Maricopa County Elections Department presented its plans for the upcoming primaries, and general election this November.

Plans include raising the pay for election workers, providing more than 200 voting centers and continuing to offer early and mail-in voting. Some Arizona lawmakers say they are not confident in the county’s plan and raise concerns about election security and future audits.

"This is the document to which you can hold us accountable and this is the document we believe will guide the election that is secure, that is successful, and that is transparent," elections officials remarked on May 1.

Maricopa County's Recorder is inviting the public to view the county’s framework for the 2022 elections, which goes over how to vote, where to vote, how votes are counted, and what the steps are in case of a crisis.

Some GOP senators say the process is still flawed, and disagree with voting centers, and even early voting.

"One vote in the precinct and on paper just like we proposed in HB 2289 which is being held up in the Senate," said Republican State Rep. John Fillmore. Republican Sen. Kelly Townsend adds, "When you mix a bunch of precincts together, it’s hard to see if a particular precinct may have a bad actor, that there may be too many ballots. There are issues there as well – not at the expense of security. So if we can’t do a proper audit and convince the public that their vote isn’t being canceled by an illegal vote, then we are not doing it right."

Townsend says there is a possibility of lawmakers calling for another independent election review in the future.

"I'd like to see a more robust audit … so that we have an organized legitimate audit that can happen at any point in any county. That's the direction we are going in," she said.

According to the county recorder, more than 30% of voters have registered as independent and those voters must contact the election’s office ahead of time to let them know which ballot they want to use if they plan to vote by mail. Otherwise, independent voters can show up at a voting center on Election Day and access a ballot that way.

Voters can get involved and work elections, too.

Information can be found at GetInvolved.Maricopa.Vote and BeBallotReady.Vote. There will be between 210-225 voting centers on Election Day, phased in during early voting.

Voters can visit Locations.Maricopa.Vote to find where to vote and live wait times.