FLAGSTAFF — Coconino County is more prepared than ever before a crucial election cycle that will determine control of the White House and Arizona Legislature.
The county opened a new election center on the west side of Flagstaff on Monday. The facility is a 9,000 square foot facility that will house all of the county's election staff. This is a marked improvement from the previous structure, where staff were spread across multiple offices.
“This building was designed with accessibility, transparency and integrity in mind,” Coconino County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeronimo Vazquez said at the grand opening.
“This facility is an investment in our community, putting resources where they are needed to best serve Coconino residents now and in the future.”
In addition to administrative offices, the new building will also include training space for poll workers and become a one-stop shop for candidates filing their applications. This warehouse space also stores all the equipment needed to set up polling places on election day, including voting booths, ballot boxes, and signage.
Although this space is open to the public, security protocols are extensive and allow people to observe the election process without compromising the integrity of the election.
“I hope everyone who comes here sees how transparent it is, how safe it is, how well-staffed it is and how open it is,” Vasquez said. “Because at the end of the day, we're trying to show that everyone's vote matters and that it will be done fairly.”
All counting rooms can only be accessed with a key card and the number of people who can enter them is restricted. The facility is also monitored by cameras throughout the building, including both digital tabulation and mandatory hand counting rooms, and voters can watch a live stream of vote counting to ensure transparency.
During the counting process, official election observers at the venue will be given color-coded vests that indicate their party affiliation so that they can be easily identified by anyone watching the vote counting process, whether in person or online. You can
To prevent tampering, election equipment is wired into a closed network. The counted ballots are stored in a sealed box inside a locked metal cage and officially sealed when full.
But Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes acknowledged the long history of successful elections throughout the region, even though the county has never had a central location for election administration.
“What I'm blessing you with today is nothing new and exciting or transparent that will change things,” Fontes said ahead of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This is a continuation of what has always happened in Arizona.”
Other counties are already planning election upgrades.
Coconino County isn't the only county getting newly updated election space.
In Maricopa County, officials have long planned a nearly $70 million renovation of the county's elections headquarters in downtown Phoenix. The upgrades include expanding the second floor of the building to create space for the Recorder's Office staff. The building is now fully occupied by the county elections office.
Although the complete renovation will not be completed in time for this year's election, some spaces have already been renovated to accommodate more workers.
Meanwhile, Pinal County election officials are preparing to move to a brand new facility in Florence this year. Officials say the county's current elections office in Coolidge is too small to handle the growing number of ballots as the population grows.
Arizona Republic reporter Sasha Hapka contributed to this article.
Here's where to contact the reporter: LLatch@gannett.com.
The Republic's coverage of northern Arizona is supported in part by a grant from Report for America. To support local news coverage like this in Arizona, please make a tax-deductible donation. supportjournalism.azcentral.com.
