Federal Investigation Initiated for Alleged Civil Rights Infringements during Arizona's Primary Elections
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an investigation into the handling of the 2016 primary election in Maricopa County, Arizona, focusing on long lines at polling places with high minority populations. This inquiry is part of a broader DOJ scrutiny on election administration and voter roll maintenance in several states, including Arizona.
The DOJ's Civil Rights Division requested detailed election data and voter registration records from Arizona as part of a wider probe into how states manage voter registration and verify voter eligibility. The investigation includes reviewing the use of identification methods such as driver’s license numbers to confirm identities and examining potential failures to maintain accurate voter rolls.
The investigation arose amid concerns about possible voter suppression and discriminatory effects due to long wait times disproportionately impacting minority voters. The DOJ has regulated such matters to enforce federal voting rights laws intended to prevent disenfranchisement based on race or ethnicity.
Responses to the DOJ's investigation have been mixed. Election officials in Arizona and other states have expressed concerns about the scope and nature of the DOJ requests, sometimes describing them as highly unusual but necessary for ensuring election integrity. On the other hand, some advocacy groups and legal observers note that under the Trump administration, the DOJ's approach to voting rights enforcement shifted, with the department focusing more on voter roll purges than on protecting minority voters' access.
Karen Osborne, county elections director, has stated that the decisions on polling places were based on recent voting patterns and an increasing number of mail-in ballots. In what officials called a cost-cutting move, Maricopa County slashed its polling sites to 60, down from 200 in 2012. Osborne indicated that Maricopa County will gather the requested information and make it public by the April 22 deadline set by the Justice Department.
The Justice Department's investigation is ongoing, and the state of Arizona formally certified the election on Monday, with candidates having five days to contest the results. The election results were publicly announced on Monday. An attorney for Democrat Bernie Sanders has stated that his campaign is considering a challenge to the election results.
The investigation was initiated due to complaints of exceedingly long lines at polling places with high levels of minority voters. Voters last month waited in line for up to five hours to cast ballots and well into the night at the sharply reduced number of polls. The Justice Department cites reports of "a disproportional burden in waiting times ... in some areas with substantial racial or language minority populations."
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the handling of the presidential nominating contest in Maricopa County, Arizona, following a call for a federal probe by Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat. The DOJ's civil rights division has asked Maricopa County to provide detailed information about the election, and Osborne, the county elections director, has denied any intent to rob voters of their rights and confirmed that Maricopa County will comply with the Justice Department's request.
In summary, the DOJ’s investigation into Arizona’s 2016 primary election targets long lines in minority-heavy precincts to uncover if election administration practices violated federal voting rights protections. It is part of a larger pattern of federal oversight of state voter roll and election procedures, with varying governmental and public responses concerning election fairness, voter access, and voter privacy.
- The ongoing DOJ investigation, centered on Arizona's 2016 primary election, is a significant part of the broader policy-and-legislation landscape, focusing on potential violations of federal voting rights protections in relation to election administration practices.
- This investigation, sparked by concerns regarding long lines in minority-heavy precincts, is deeply intertwined with the politics of voting rights, as it sheds light on the effectiveness and fairness of general-news topics such as voter roll maintenance and election administration.
