24 | March | 2016 | M'chelsMusings

March 24, 2016

Rarely, very very rarely do I get on a political soapbox, but this is outrageous!!

Please sign the petition and share this, reblog, link, whatever!! Something needs to be done about this inequity!

In Maricopa County (Phoenix area) Arizona, the number of polling places was reduced from 200 during the 2012 primary election, to just 60 for 2016. They were warned that this would mean long lines and discourage people from voting. But they did it anyway.

Some predominantly Latino areas only got one or no polling places at all. County officials allocated one polling place for every 108,000 residents but Anglo communities had more polling sites per residents. The result was traffic jams, and people had to wait in 5+ hour lines to vote.

“Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, in charge of overseeing the election, told reporters she was sorry people were upset but didn’t offer solutions.”

The Justice Department can put a stop to this, they are the best hope for upholding the rights of all Arizona voters. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton has asked for the DOJ to investigate, now it’s our turn to keep up the pressure.

Reference: http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/2016/03/23/arizona-primary-our-view-we-outraged-long-lines/82152636/

http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2016/03/22/maricopa-county-election-officials-writing-off-voters-you-bet/82145554/

That’s why I signed a petition to Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney General, which says:

“In Maricopa County Arizona, the number of polling places was reduced from 200 during the 2012 primary election, to just 60 for 2016. Some predominantly Latino areas only got one or no polling places at all. People had to wait in 5+ hour lines to vote. Please investigate and put a stop to the voter suppression before the general election.”

Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/dept-of-justice-investigate-1?source=s.fwd&r_by=15469225

Thank you!