In Arizona, some electoral machines are experiencing technical problems
In Arizona (Southwest), the midterm elections are disrupted by technical problems affecting certain machines in the county of Maricopa, the most populous of the State, announced Tuesday morning the local authorities. In this county — which includes Phoenix, the Grand Canyon state capital — ” around 20 % “ of the 223 polling stations meet ” a problem “ with the machines responsible for reading the bulletins, explained on Twitter Republican Bill Gates, namesake of the billionaire and responsible for the smooth running of the ballot.
It is around this county of 4.5 million inhabitants that a large part of the charges – dismissed – of electoral fraud in 2020 were concentrated in this state where Joe Biden had passed Donald Trump (the Democrat had won the ballot with barely 10,000 votes in advance).
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“We are trying to resolve this issue as quickly as possible”, explained Mr. Gates, while assuring that this did not prevent voters from voting. In the event of a problem, a ” alternative solution “ is planned, he insisted. Voters can deposit their ballots in a “secure box”which will be open ” later in the night “ to count votes with working machines. They can also vote in another office.
As soon as operations opened at 6 a.m., one of the polling stations located in a downtown library encountered problems with its machines, AFP journalists noted. Only voters who had already prepared their ballot sealed in an envelope could deposit it, the others were asked to go to another office 500 meters away.
County Sheriff Paul Penzone announced he has stepped up security measures on the sidelines of the election, promising a ” zero tolerance “ against voter intimidation. “If you choose to break the law, I have several cells waiting for you”, he said at a press conference. But that didn’t stop masked observers, some of whom were armed, from trailing around advance ballot drop boxes, in a bid they say was to prevent ballot box stuffing.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who is running for governor, said she expects ballot recounts and legal challenges to the results. In front of the press, Mr.me Hobbs also said he expects his opponent, Republican Kari Lake, to claim victory before the results are even known.