The Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s campaign are preparing to file a federal lawsuit against Arizona over practices that lead to long lines and wait times in the state’s primary, according to a report.
Thousands of residents had to wait for as long as five hours to cast their ballots in last month’s Arizona Democratic presidential primary. Clinton won that contest and secured 42 delegates.
According to the Washington Post, the complaint will accuse Arizona of having an “alarmingly inadequate number of voting centers” that “resulted in severe, inexcusable burdens on voters county-wide, as well as the ultimate disenfranchisement of untold numbers of voters who were unable or unwilling to wait in intolerably long lines.”
The lack of polling places was also “particularly burdensome” on Maricopa County’s black, Hispanic and Native American communities, the lawsuit will allege. Those communities had fewer voting locations than white communities, if any at all, the lawsuit says.
The Clinton campaign will join the lawsuit after it is filed Friday on behalf of the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Arizona Democratic Party and some Arizonans.
The lawsuit also calls on the U.S. District Court of Phoenix to review the polling location plan for the November general election in an effort to stop state policies have a “dramatic and disparate impact” on minorities, who are more likely to vote Democratic.
The Justice Department is currently investigating the Maricopa County primary.
