Voters wait outside the Douglas Visitors Center Tuesday after ballots ran out at the town's only polling place.The only polling place in Douglas ran out of ballots Tuesday evening, leaving up to 300 people waiting to vote, the Cochise County elections program manager said.
At 9:30 p.m., an estimated 30 people were still in line waiting to vote. The polls closed at 7 p.m., but anyone in line at that time is allowed to vote under state law.
Election officials said the long lines persisted from the time the polling place at the Douglas Visitors Center opened at 6 a.m.
One official said Cochise County had 18 polling places for this election, compared with 49 in the 2012 presidential election. Many counties have reduced the numbers of polling places because of early voting.
The Douglas polling place is in the 2nd Congressional District, where the outcomes in the last two congressional elections were determined by less than one percentage point. Two years ago, Martha McSally won the congressional seat by 167 votes.
Matt Heinz on Cochise County voting issue
A sign near the polling location in Douglas, where 300 people were waiting to vote after ballots ran out on Election Day, 2016.
A sign near the polling location in Douglas, where 300 people were waiting to vote after ballots ran out on Election Day, 2016.
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