U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Voting Section WB 950 Ave, Washington, DC 20530 April 1, 2016 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL AND FIRST-CLASS MAIL Helen Purcell - Recorder Maricopa County 111 South 3rd Avenue Phoenix, Arizona 85003 Dear Ms. Purcell: We write to you as the county of?cial primarily responsible for the conduct of elections in Maricopa County to request information regarding the March 22, 2016 presidential preference primary election. a We have received reports that a number of Maricopa County voters waited several hours to cast a ballot on election day. We also understand that there were allegations of disproportionate burden in waiting times to vote on election day in some areas with substantial racial or language minority populations. In order to properly evaluate Maricopa County?s compliance with the federal voting rights statutes during the administration of the March 22, 2016 election, we request that you provide us with the following information: 1. A list of polling place locations in Maricopa County for voting on election day for the March 22, 2016 election. The data should include the polling place name and address, as well as the voting precinct(s) served by each polling place. Please provide this data in a Microsoft Excel?compatible format, such as ?.xls? or We note that this information does not currently appear to be readily available on the county? website. 2. A description of the procedures and criteria for determining the number and locations of polling places established for election day voting in Maricopa County during the March 22, 2016 election. To the extent that there was a reduction in the number of polling places in this election in comparison to past elections, please provide a description of the reasons for such a change, as well as whether the County examined the potential disproportionate effects of these changes on voters based on racial or language minority group (and, if so, the results of that examination). 3. A description of whether voters in Maricopa County could vote at any polling place location in the county on election day during the March 22, 2016 election. Please indicate whether there was a change in the procedures regarding where voters could cast their ballots on election day for this election. Please also describe the information provided directly to voters and publicity provided generally to the public regarding election day voting procedures for this election. 4. A complete list of registered voters for Maricopa County for the March 22, 2016 election, including information on assigned precincts. Please provide this data in a Microsoft Excel?compatible format, such as ?.xls? or 5. Data on the total number of voters who cast a ballot in person on election day during the March 22, 2016 election at each polling place location in Maricopa County. Please also provide data on the total number of voters who actually cast a ballot in the March 22, 2016 election through any other available voting procedures, such as early voting in person, early voting by mail, or other methods (including-the number of voters casting a ballot by each such method). Please also provide data on the total number of voters who had requested a ballot to vote early by mail in the March 22, 2016 election. 6. Data on the staff assigned to each polling place location during the March 22, 2016 election, including the number of bilingual staff and poll workers, and a description'of how staff assignments differed from prior elections. 7. Data on the total number of provisional ballots cast during the March 22, 2016 election at each polling place location in Maricopa County, including available information regarding the stated reasons for voting by provisional ballot, and whether the provisional ballot was counted or not. 8. Where available, information on the actual times when the last voter voted and polls closed for all polling place locations in Maricopa County during the March 22, 2016 election. . . 9. Maricopa County?s procedures for recording political party registration in the voter registration database and the available information from any review conducted by Maricopa County regarding voters who said they believed their party information was incorrectly recorded in the voter registration database during the March 22, 2016 election. 10. Please also describe Maricopa County?s response to concerns that have been widely reported in the news media regarding long waiting times to vote on election day for the March 22, 2016 election, as well as concerns that long waiting times to vote may have disproportionately burdened minority voters. Please also describe any plans by the County to avoid such concerns in future elections. Please provide your response to these inquiries by April 22, 2016. The materials may be sent by express delivery to the Voting Section, Civil Rights Division, US. Department of Justice, NWB 7254, 1800 Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006. You may also send a response by email to voting.section@usdoj. gov. -3- We very much appreciate your cooperation in providing this information. Our lawyers will be in touch with your of?ce to follow up on this request. In the meantime, if you have any questions with respect to the foregoing, please do not hesitate to contact the Voting Section at 1? 800-253?3931. wief, Voting Section