Clinton campaign, Democratic Party sue Arizona over primary voting problems

close

Video

A year later, Clinton's campaign has not gone as planned

Ed Henry explains on 'Special Report' how Bernie wiped out Hillary's inevitability

The Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic Party joined Thursday to sue Arizona over voting problems in last month’s presidential primary, including long lines that had residents waiting hours to cast their ballots.

A senior party official confirmed the voting rights lawsuit to Fox News.

The Washington Post first reported on the suit, which comes after thousands were stuck waiting hours to vote in the March primary.

“The suit is a response to decisions that caused extremely long lines and needlessly disenfranchised voters, especially minority voters, during the state’s March 22nd presidential primary election, and includes affected voters the Arizona Democratic Party, and the Ann Kirkpatrick for Senate campaign as plaintiffs,” the official said.

The suit, filed in federal court, names as defendants Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell.

According to the official, the suit faults the state for a decision to “drastically reduce the number of voting locations, forcing thousands of voters to wait in lines for up to five hours, as well as the state’s arbitrary rejection of provisional ballots at alarming rates, especially those cast by Hispanic voters.”

Reagan earlier this month certified results of the presidential primary, which Donald Trump and Clinton won.

As the state's top election official, Reagan didn't have the ability to reject the official canvass from the 15 counties, despite acknowledging problems that led some voters to be incorrectly left off rolls. The certification did, however, clear the way for court challenges.

Reagan said her office and the Legislature may consider proposed changes in the way counties run future elections. Such changes previously required federal approval, but a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision threw out that portion of the Voting Rights Act.

Fox News' Ed Henry and The Associated Press contributed to this report.