With Election Day just hours away, dozens of polling places aren't ready yet in Maricopa County, Arizona


'Twas the night before Election Day, when all through Maricopa County, Arizona, voting officials were working their tails off in order to get 72 polling places set up before morning.
As of 5:45 p.m. Monday evening, Fox 10 reported, 72 of the county's 503 polling places were not ready. Reporter John Hook tweeted that Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes told him there was "no guarantee they will be ready by opening for Election Day. They hope to work through the night to open on time, ready to go."
Fontes was more upbeat at 9 p.m., when he spoke to Fox 10 again. He said several of the 72 sites were now operational, and the public should have "confidence that these sites are all gonna be open tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. for voting." This isn't "some kind of catastrophe," Fontes added, and he expects to see huge crowds on Tuesday "doing their civic duty."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During the state's primary on Aug. 28, Maricopa County hired a contractor to set up voting machines, but the company didn't send enough technicians, and several polling places across Phoenix could not open at 6 a.m. At the time, Fontes said 62 polling places were affected, but all were up and running by 11:30 a.m. On Monday, Fontes stressed that there are 125 local inspectors setting up the equipment, with the county not relying on outsiders.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county
-
Supreme Court lowers bar in discrimination cases
speed read The court ruled in favor of a white woman who claimed she lost two deserved promotions to gay employees
-
Trump-Musk relationship implodes in taunts, threats
speed read Musk said Trump's multitrillion bill would cause a recession and accused the president of involvement with Jeffrey Epstein
-
Trump hits Africa, Middle East with new travel ban
Speed Read The travel ban bars visitors from 12 countries and restricts entry from seven
-
Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill
speed read 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk posted on X
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump