By Hank Stephenson
Arizona Capitol Times
In the days following the election, the Maricopa County Elections Department endured harassment, vandalism and a possible cyber attack – all while the office was trying to count a record number of votes left over from Election Day.
Protesters, political pundits and even U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid all urged the department to count faster the more than 631,000 “late early” and provisional ballots that were still uncounted after Election Day. But many of those seeking a speedy count actually slowed down the ballot counting process.
Among those asking for a quick count was Presente PAC, a national nonprofit organization focusing on engaging the Latino community in politics.
The organization, which leverages technology, communications, and the media to amplify Latino political power, hosted an online petition to tell Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell to “Count all the votes against (Maricopa County Sheriff Joe) Arpaio.”
