Boxes of ballots sit in the Maricopa County Recorder and Elections Department offices after Arizona’s primary election Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 9:56 AM PT – Thursday, August 4, 2022
Pinal County officials in Arizona are under serious heat after Tuesday’s primary election. County officials apologized to residents of Pinal County on Wednesday for not having enough in-person ballots. Over 20 precincts in the County ran low or were completely out of ballots prior to the polls closing.
No official cause as to why there was a shortage has been given, however, Pinal County officials believes high demand and printing errors may have been possible factors.
Due to unprecedented demand for in-person ballots, Pinal County has experienced a ballot shortage in certain, limited precincts. Pinal County is continuing to print additional ballots and distributing them to each affected precinct polling place.
— Pinal County – Government 🌵 (@PinalCounty) August 2, 2022
During a press conference on Wednesday, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors addressed issues regarding the lack of in-person ballots. County official Jefferey McClure spoke on the topic.
“I’m not entirely sure how the ballot shortage happened,” he said. “We opened the boxes and there weren’t enough ballots, so we’re not really quite clear how that occurred.”
Election officials have speculated they will not be able to certify the election due to the possibility that people were not able to vote. This announcement comes after 60,000 mis-printed ballots were sent throughout the county in July.
