Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Have you heard? Florida finished counting ballots today and President Obama was declared the winner. Obama wins Florida at last, pushing final electoral tally to 332-206.
So how are you doing, Arizona? Have you got those ballots counted yet? (I ask facetiously). I just finished my tour of duty auditing ballots, and I can tell you that early ballots are not yet fully processed, and all those provisional ballots cast on election day won't be counted until next week. Which means the Banana Republic of Florida (substantially more population) has done a better job of counting ballots than the backwater of Arizona. Aren't you proud?
The Arizona Republic reported today, Dems, Latinos protest provisional-ballot use:
At a raucous downtown rally, state Democratic lawmakers and Latino activist groups said Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice and state officials should probe what the lawmakers and activists believe is an unusual number of uncounted early ballots, as well as what they said was a higher number of provisional ballots given to minority voters who showed up at the polls.
They also want Maricopa County election officials to better publicize how voters who cast a "conditional" provisional ballot, because they were unable to present proper ID, can ensure their vote is counted.
If you were given a conditional provisional ballot because you were unable to produce the necessary identification, you have until Wednesday to show the proper ID so your vote will be counted.
You need a photo ID with your name and address matching the address listed on the voter rolls. That can be an Arizona driver's license, tribal-identification or medical-marijuana card.
If you don't have a photo ID, you need two forms of identification with your name and address matching the information on the voter rolls. These can be utility bills, bank statements, Arizona vehicle registration or government-issued ID.
Bring your ID to any city or town clerk's office or Maricopa County's two offices in Phoenix and Mesa. Locations can be found at recorder.maricopa.gov/pdf/
Bring your ID to your county Recorder's offices in other counties.
"We're asking for an investigation as to how we got into this situation," said state Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix. "We have seen an inordinate amount of people who didn't receive their absentee ballots and had to show up (at the polls), and we want to know why that is."
More than 524,000 early ballots statewide remained uncounted Friday, including 172,000 provisional ballots that had yet to be verified. Overall, 2.4 million Arizonans voted in this election, about 7 percent of them voting a provisional ballot.
In 2008, nearly 152,000 Arizonans cast provisional ballot, or about 6.5 percent of the 2.3 million who voted.
Three congressional seats and at least two legislative seats hang in the balance, and it could be two more weeks before final results are known.
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The statewide count is expected to be finished in about 10 to 12 days, Bennett said, though counties can ask for extensions, if necessary. [Ahem, Florida has finished counting ballots.]
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In Pima County, early ballots should be completed by Wednesday, while provisionals will likely take until Nov. 19, Elections Director Brad Nelson said.
The Rachel Maddow Show and the show's producer, Steve Benen, have been shining a national spotlight of shame on Arizona. Heard in Arizona: #CountEveryVote:
If you're not in Arizona, you could easily miss the story of what's happening there this week: More than 630,00 votes left to count after Tuesday's election, more than 172,000 of them provisional ballots, and many of those believed to have been cast by newly registered Latino voters who experienced some kind of hitch at the polls. Voters who used a provisional ballot face a deadline of Wednesday to return to their county elections offices and present ID that shows they voted rightfully.
Enough votes remain uncounted to swing several races in Arizona, including three for Congress and some where candidates have conceded or declared victory. At the far end of the spectrum, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's apparent re-election falls within the range of votes still not counted. Much closer is the race for Congresswoman Gabby Giffords old seat, now divided by a few hundred votes [actually, less].
As of Friday afternoon, Arizona has gotten the pile of ballots down to 524,633, including the 172,196 provisional ballots. Activists in Greater Phoenix, in Maricopa County, have been protesting at the county elections bureau. They say they will stay there until the counting is done. While they wait for the world to find their story, they're telling it themselves. I've included a video, above, from a Youtube account known as PresentePac (associated with these folks?) and another, [below], from Chandra Narcia at the protests.
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