- Associated Press - Monday, March 16, 2020

PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona’s top officials tried Monday to reassure voters that Tuesday’s Democratic presidential primary will be safe despite the unprecedented cloud of a global pandemic and pleas by public health officials to avoid unnecessary social interactions.

Officials say they won’t cancel the election but are scrambling to adjust as polling places dwindle, poll workers back out and voters worry about staying healthy. A bevy of last-minute changes and the potential for a shortage of workers leaves the possibility of a chaotic Election Day.

“Our democracy has risen to challenges in the past, and it must continue to do so,” Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said in a news conference Monday alongside Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.

Despite federal health guidance to avoid crowds of more than 10 people, Hobbs said she decided not to seek a delay in the election in consultation with election officials across the state, health experts and Democratic Party leaders. Changing the date would likely have required legislative action.

There’s no guarantee that there would be a safer date to hold an election, she said. Voting would be quick with only one thing on the ballot, she said. Only registered Democrats are eligible to vote in the presidential primary.

“Our intent at the polling places tomorrow is to get people in and out,” Hobbs said.

Around the state, election officials are consolidating polling places, lining up backup poll workers or opening emergency voting centers where people can cast a ballot early. Hours for absentee drop boxes are being extended.

Earlier Monday, Hobbs and Ducey released a video Monday outlining the precautions being taken at polling places. They include measures to keep distance between people, frequent hand washing by poll workers and regular disinfecting of equipment. Officials also asked voters to wash hands before and after visiting the polls.

Still, the potential for complications remains, particularly as harried election authorities change plans.

As nursing homes and churches opted against serving as polling places, poll workers backed out and disinfectants became difficult to buy, Maricopa County officials scrambled to consolidate from 229 to 151 polling places. The new “vote anywhere centers” will allow registered Democrats in the state’s most populous county to cast a ballot at any official polling place in the county; there’s no need to visit an assigned precinct polling place. The locations are available online at http://Maricopa.Vote.

“The ever-changing world that we are living in is creating some stress for all of us. But we want to make the voter assured that we are going full speed on having a great election as we are tasked to do,” Clint Hickman, the Republican chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said last week.

Maricopa County extended hours for voters to drop off absentee ballots at several locations around ’the Phoenix area until 9 p.m. Monday. A dropbox at the county election headquarters in downtown Phoenix is available 24 hours a day until the polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes, a Democrat who oversees mail voting but not election-day operations, said he would mail a ballot to 189,000 people in the county who hadn’t received one, but he was quickly slapped down by a judge.

The COVID-19 disease for most people causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, particularly older people or those with underlying health conditions, it can cause more severe illness.

That could be problematic for the army of workers who staff the polls, who are often older Americans most at risk to experience severe complications if they contract COVID-19. Hobbs said she worked with Arizona State University to enlist students to replace poll workers who quit or don’t show up.

The prospect for long lines could be mitigated by the popularity of early voting and mail balloting in Arizona. In recent elections, about eight in 10 voters have cast their ballot outside of a traditional Election Day polling place.

To expand that option, Coconino County will open five emergency voting spots Monday across the sprawling jurisdiction, the second-largest by land area in the nation. The county originally planned just one in Flagstaff but will now have additional emergency voting facilities in Page, Tuba City, Sedona and Williams.

“We want people to vote. So we really want them to feel that we’re making it as accommodating for them in case they have concerns,” said Patty Hansen, Coconino County recorder.

Elections directors in Pima and Pinal counties, the second and third largest in Arizona, said they have moved a handful of polling places away from facilities that closed and saw a few poll workers back out.

“All things considered - we are doing well,” Pima County Elections Director Brad Nelson wrote in an email.

Hobbs said she’s looking at what emergency authority she and election officers might need from the Legislature to protect voters if the outbreak is still disruptive during the August primary or November general election.

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This story has been corrected to show that Ducey and Hobbs released their video on Monday, not Friday.

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