By Corinne Murdock |
On Wednesday, Maricopa County will open the first 10 of 211 vote centers for the upcoming primary election; in all, double the number operating during the 2020 election. Five of those locations will only serve as vote centers on certain days — otherwise, they’ll only house drop boxes.
Vote centers allow voters to cast ballots at any location rather than an assigned precinct, leading them to be referred to as “vote anywhere” locations.
The majority of vote centers were concentrated at places of worship: churches and a few mosques accounted for about 44 percent of all vote centers. About 16 percent were located at K-12 schools or district offices. About 15 percent were located at recreational or community centers.
Another 15 percent were scattered almost evenly across 17 different types of buildings. Of note, there was a vote center at a mortuary, a union, a country club, an airport, and a commercial real estate agency.
As reported by AZ Free News, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer stated about one month ago that there would be 212 vote centers.
The county will open 44 more vote centers on July 22, then 65 more on August 1. On election day, August 2, 92 vote centers will open.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.