A county elections director in Arizona has been replaced following the ballot debacle that ensued on Tuesday during the primary elections.
Pinal County Elections Director David Frisk is no longer employed by the county, AZ Family reported Thursday. Frisk has been replaced by Virginia Ross, who resigned from her elected position of county recorder to fill the void as elections director.
“Having been the Recorder for Pinal County since 2013, this primary election has been a stinging experience for us all,” Ross announced. “I look forward to involving all stakeholders in Pinal County as we work together to finish this primary election, before immediately turning our attention to the November election.”
Multiple Pinal County polling places ran out of in-person ballots during Tuesday’s primary elections.
“If you experience an issue, a reminder: you can choose to use the express vote device located at the polling place, or as long as you are physically in line at 7:00 pm today, you will be permitted to cast a ballot. Voters who arrive after 7:00 pm are not permitted to cast a vote,” Pinal County’s election district said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
“Pinal County is continuing to print additional ballots and distributing them to each affected precinct polling place,” the statement added.
In one precinct, voters were reportedly given cards to come back later after ballots ran out. According to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, at least 11 other precincts were affected.
Jeffrey McClure, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said they were “deeply embarrassed” by the issues.
“As a Board, we are deeply embarrassed and frustrated by the mistakes that have been made in this primary election, and as such, we are taking immediate steps to ensure the November election runs smoothly, as elections in Pinal County have historically done prior to this primary,” McClure said.
In a joint statement with Republican Party of Arizona Chairwoman Kelli Ward, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel noted that a whopping 63,000 mail-in ballots were delivered to the wrong voters.
“During Arizona’s primary elections, the RNC and Republican Party of Arizona’s poll observer program documented and reported multiple failures by Pinal County’s Elections Administrator, including 63,000 mail-in ballots delivered to the wrong voters and multiple Republican-heavy precinct locations running out of ballots,” the pair said.
“This is a comprehensive failure that disenfranchises Arizonans and exemplifies why Republican-led efforts for transparency at the ballot box are so important. Pinal County Elections Director David Frisk should resign immediately,” Ward and McDaniel demanded.
Source: Dailywire
