Election Day dawned cold and clear in Flagstaff on Tuesday with subfreezing temperatures and sunshine.
Although the overwhelming majority of Arizona voters mail in or drop off their ballots ahead of Election Day 鈥� nearly 90% in this year鈥檚 primaries 鈥� election workers arrived at polling places across Coconino County Tuesday as early as 4:30 a.m. to ensure that those voters who had not yet voted or prefer to vote in person would have the opportunity to do so.
In addition to the presidential contest, this year鈥檚 ballot confronted voters with races for Congress, county offices, school boards and the Flagstaff City Council, along with a daunting slate of more than a dozen state-level propositions.
Solomon Moeller, leaving the Flagstaff Aquaplex around 8:30 a.m., said he chose to vote in person before heading to work because he didn鈥檛 completely trust the system of mail-in ballots.
鈥淚 just wanted to be able to do it the way I always do,鈥� Moeller explained. 鈥淚t was pretty quick, actually. 鈥� There was a couple of propositions and things for local that I wasn鈥檛 aware of, but just a quick look-up on the phone 鈥� it wasn鈥檛 hard to figure out.鈥�
Anne Pellegrini, who voted at the East Flagstaff Community Library, said she prepared to vote with a morning 鈥渃ram session.鈥�
鈥淚 came with my answers on the propositions, but that was a lot,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat took me a hot minute this morning, and more than I expected.鈥�
She also expressed concern about voting by mail.
鈥淚 have always voted in person, and honestly, the more I think about it and the more rhetoric I hear about mail-in ballots, the more nervous I am about how those are handled,鈥� Pellegrini said. 鈥淚 feel more secure about my vote coming in person. Tradition.鈥�
Former President Donald Trump has frequently claimed on the campaign trail that mail-in voting is susceptible to fraud, but repeated investigations have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Arizona or anywhere else in the United States.
Other voters came to the polls on Election Day because their ballots arrived later than expected. Crystal Warden-Gant said she didn鈥檛 receive her ballot 鈥渦ntil the last minute.鈥� She and her husband Dennis Gant like to fill out their ballots together, but by the time hers arrived, the deadline for mailing had already passed.
鈥淚t was a lot longer than we thought,鈥� Warden-Gant said, referring to this year鈥檚 long slate of ballot propositions and local contests. 鈥淗ad my ballot come on time, we could have spent a couple days doing it.鈥�
Gant鈥檚 ballot did arrive on time, but 鈥渨e do it together,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we brought them over here because we sure wanted to vote today.鈥�
The couple delivered their completed ballots to the East Flagstaff Community Library, warmly greeting Brandon Billings as he DJ鈥檈d in the parking lot outside.
Billings, who owns and operates the company 7000 Feet of Sound, was out in partnership with the Philadelphia-based group DJs at the Polls, 鈥渢rying to spread that energy, get people hyped up and going.鈥�
鈥淪ometimes you got polling lines that are an hour-plus long, and having somebody out here playing music that you might enjoy, or might just have fun rocking to, keeps you a little more entertained as you鈥檙e stuck waiting in line,鈥� he said.
There were no lines at this particular polling location, but Billings鈥� blend of songs by Jack Harlow, Fifth Harmony, Luke Bryan and more elicited smiles from voters and library patrons passing by.
鈥淚t sounds like we鈥檙e having a party!鈥� Jan Blakesley said on her way in to vote.
Blakesley, who lives in Flagstaff, was surprised to discover that she was not registered to vote in Coconino County.
鈥淎t first, I thought, 鈥極h, my God, you mean I can鈥檛 vote?鈥欌�� Blakesley said. But she was able to cast a provisional ballot. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad, too, because I would have felt badly if I couldn鈥檛 have voted for president."
At both the Aquaplex and the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library downtown, observers from the Democracy Defense Front 鈥� a volunteer group organized by the Arizona Democracy Resource Center 鈥� stood bundled up against the early cold, outside the 75-foot buffer zone that surrounds each polling location.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a nonpartisan group that鈥檚 making sure that election places are staying free of voter intimidation and pressure from electioneers within the 75-foot line,鈥� volunteer Nilay Jones said.
Her group of five observers had not seen anything of concern, she said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen little kids here, we鈥檝e seen seniors here, obviously working-class people on their way to work -- which has been really cool. Lot of people looking like they鈥檙e going about their working day and stopping to vote,鈥� Jones said.
Two representatives of the reproductive rights organization Arizona List were also present at the Aquaplex, offering ballot guides to voters.
鈥淲e support pro-choice, Democratic women,鈥� said intern Allie Orr-Randall. 鈥淲e endorse local candidates all the way down to school board.鈥�
The group is focusing on Proposition 139 this year, which was approved and will amend the state constitution to make abortion a guaranteed right.
Despite the cold, Orr-Randall was happy with how the morning was going.
鈥淚t鈥檚 rewarding to see people looking at the information we鈥檙e giving them,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think a lot of people kind of struggle to pick who to vote for, especially young voters who don鈥檛 know a lot about local politics.鈥�
At the downtown library, representatives of the Trump campaign were offering a Republican ballot guide along with stickers but declined to comment.
Renee McCooey drove her mother, Fern Girtle, to vote at the East Flagstaff Community Library.
鈥淢y mom didn鈥檛 have a mail-in ballot, and she was going to have to come down anyway,鈥� McCooey explained. 鈥淪o I brought her, and I voted.鈥� The experience was positive, she said: 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 friendly, everybody鈥檚 helpful.鈥�
McCooey said she researched this year鈥檚 ballot before arriving in order to be 鈥渋nformed and prepared.鈥� Her mother was surprised by the length of the ballot.
鈥淚 wanted to do it in house, because it鈥檚 probably my last one,鈥� Girtle said, laughing. 鈥淚鈥檓 93 and I don鈥檛 know if I鈥檒l make it to another one!鈥�
鈥淚t took me a long time,鈥� she added. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 OK. I鈥檇 rather have it a long time and get it right than cut it short. Anyway, it was great.鈥�
County report
The Coconino County Elections Department (Elections) reported Tuesday that all polling locations were open and functional with moderate to little waiting times.
However, the Elections staff was attempting to make the public aware of misinformation circulating regarding who was allowed to vote in Coconino County on Election Day.
"We have heard that voters at our polling locations have been incorrectly informed by an unknown group that they can vote using a Federal-only ballot in Coconino County, even if they are registered to vote in a different Arizona county," staff said in the release. "Arizona law does not allow for this, and we recommend that voters should only vote in their registered county. Voters may check their voter registration at before arriving to a polling location."
Apache troubles
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren sent out a tweet Tuesday morning in response to issues with voting machines in Apache County:
"Apache County voters, we understand that voting machines are down, and some voters are being turned away without casting a ballot in the federal and state elections. If you are turned away: Ask for a PROVISIONAL BALLOT to cast your ballots.鈦� 鈦燘ring your government-issued IDs. If you are denied a provisional ballot, call the Native Vote Hotline at 1-888-777-3831 OR Apache County Recorder鈥檚 Office at 928-337-7515. Do not leave the polling location without voting."