Report: 2 Valley poll workers didn't show up for duty
Reported by:
ABC15.com staff, wire reports
Last Update: 11/04/2008 7:57 pm
|
Some Valley residents who committed to get up early and get to the polls when they opened are wishing some poll workers had done the same on Tuesday.
Get Arizona Election Results
The Maricopa County Recorder's office tells abc15.com that two polling locations opened late due to poll workers not showing up for duty.
The locations that opened late were in Tempe at University and Beck and in Buckeye near South Buckeye and El Mirage roads.
Melissa Van Leuven of Avondale brought her mail in ballot for drop off at the Buckeye polling location.
When she arrived she saw a line of would be voters snaking from inside Estrella Vista School out onto the sidewalk and into the parking lot.
"I was actually blessed, because I was only there to drop off my ballot. I felt so sorry for all those people who were there and had not voted yet," said Van Leuven.
Maricopa County elections spokeswoman Yvonne Reed said it is not uncommon for poll workers to miss the important date and that when it happens, the county sends a replacement worker to the site as quickly as possible.
There were other reports of polling problems across the Phoenix area starting Tuesday morning.
In north Phoenix, there were complaints about machine problems near Union Hills Drive and 20th Street.
Do you know of more problems? Click on "add a comment" at the bottom of this story to let us know where.
Early Tuesday morning, at least 200 people lined up outside a basketball gymnasium in central Phoenix to vote and that's before the doors to the precinct opened for business.
It was so early, the poll workers had not opened the doors yet.
Early enough that the sun wasn't even touching the horizon.
And so early, the cooler morning temps had people wearing more than usual in the Valley.
The Park Central precinct operated out of a school gymnasium near 7th Ave. and Flower. This also served as a polling place for two other precincts.
The Park Central residents were lucky. Their line was only about a 30-minute wait.
People voting in the Flower precinct weren't so lucky. At least three times as many voters were in that line.
At a polling location near 32nd Street and Indian School Road, the lines stretched out the door by 6:45 a.m.
Secretary of State Jan Brewer says 80-percent of Arizona's nearly 3 million registered voters were expected to participate in the election.
Along with statewide questions on same-sex marriage and other issues, ballots also included contested congressional races and numerous tight legislative contests.
 RAW: Arizonans discuss their experience at the polls, see McCain
Did your line move quickly, or were you caught waiting for what seemed like eternity just to cast your ballot?
Or did you decide to vote early, but still ended up waiting?
Join in on our Election Day discussion and let us know what your experience was like at the polls by sounding off below in our comment section.
|
Copyright 2008 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.