Large counties have “glitches” on Election Day. Why do counties like Harris County, Texas, and Maricopa County, Arizona, continue to experience electoral irregularities? Are large counties just overwhelmed by Election Day? As the nation inches closer to that day, preventing these “glitches” becomes more crucial.
Even a relatively small error, such as incorrectly tabulating 1 percent of the vote, can change the outcome of the election. For example, Joe Biden won Arizona by about 0.6 percent of the vote, half of which came from Maricopa County, which he won by only about 0.3 percent of the vote.
Yet we are continually reassured that any potential irregularities are small and that the majority of ballots are accurately counted. Well, in close elections, being 99 percent accurate versus 100 percent accurate is the difference between correctly certifying the winner and falsified results.
For example, in 2022, in Harris County more than 1,000 ineligible ballots were cast and counted. After a lawsuit, a judge ultimately ordered a redo election. Additionally, voters experienced long lines, ballot paper shortages, and scanner failures.
Meanwhile, in Maricopa County, the story has been much the same: machine failures, long lines, and increasing doubts about the competency of the county’s electoral process. With more than 4 million residents, it is largely determinative of the state’s final vote count.
Voters experienced ballot printing errors, misplaced ballots, and equipment malfunctions that delayed vote counting. One might think that after years of glitches, these two counties would have ironed out these errors
