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In Arizona, an excessively long ballot paper could lead to queues at polling stations and several days of waiting for results. Problems are looming before the US election.
Phoenix/Washington – After the last US election, the election results in the state of Arizona in the western United States were among the most controversial in the nation. Republican officials called for recounts, and television networks and news outlets were attacked for, in the eyes of critics, declaring Joe Biden’s election victory too early. A Republican voter even filed a lawsuit claiming that her ballot was sabotaged and invalidated because she filled it out with marker, which later turned out to be untrue.
Reason enough to take a look at the US state again this year, whose dozen or so voters have traditionally gone more to the Republicans than to the Democrats since the 1950s. But this year the US election could theoretically result in a decision for Kamala Harris. The problem: This time, an oddity in the voting process is already looming as a potential problem before the US election on November 5th.
Election workers in Arizona are preparing for turbulence during the counting process because of an excessively long ballot paper. © Olivier Touron/AFP
Before the US election: Ballot papers that are too long raise fears of chaos in Arizona
That’s according to a report Washington Post This year’s ballot paper in populous Maricopa County, which is almost 43 centimeters long and has two pages, is a bit of a challenge and could take voters a good half an hour to work through. The possible result: chaos in the polling stations, long waiting times and plenty of room for new speculation and accusations. Well over half of the desert state’s approximately seven million residents live in the constituency around the city of Phoenix.
The reason for the unusual length of the voting slip is that there are several additional questions that are asked on the voting slip in addition to the actual US election. This is what it should say on the first page of the ballot paper Washington Post In Maricopa County not only the US presidency will be decided, but also the appointment of local politicians and judges. The second page includes several Republican-initiated referendums on issues such as illegal immigration and abortion rights, which could be aimed at overcoming the Democratic governor’s veto power in legislation.
Controversial early elections in the USA: Republicans are raising doubts about postal voting
The two-page-long ballot papers, which are extremely unusual for the constituency, could cause problems, according to a report by the broadcaster ABC especially on Election Day itself, when hundreds of thousands of people want to cast their votes at polling stations in and around Phoenix and could potentially find long lines. That’s why election officials called for people to vote in advance several weeks ago – by postal vote or by early voting at the polling station.
This is loud Washington Post However, there is a danger of new disinformation campaigns: In 2020, the Republicans had already stirred up a lot of skepticism about the security of early elections and even cast doubt on the security of voting machines. Thanks to the double-sided ballot papers, the latter could have to struggle with technical problems on election day, which could cause new problems. Voters could be asked by staff at polling stations to correct possible errors when filling out the form, which costs valuable time.
In the US election: polls show a close race between Harris and Trump
Alternatively, votes could also end up in the so-called “Door 3”, a flap on the voting machines that transports ballot papers into a secure box for manual evaluation by election workers. But while officials repeatedly assert that voters can trust this system, there is loud speculation, especially from the Republican side, that Trump could, among other things, “stole the election” for the second time with the help of the “Door 3”.
However, according to current polls on the US election, it is becoming clear that a victory for the Democrats in Arizona this year is unlikely. A majority of current polls see Trump ahead in the state with two to four percent of the vote. However, Harris could still win the election with the help of voters from other swing states. But the polls already agree that the election will be close. (saka)
