Photo by Al Macias
Maricopa County Director of Elections Karen Osborne, Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, and Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell at the press conference announcing the county's $30,000 outreach campaign following incorrect Spanish-language translations of election materials.
PHOENIX -- The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office is launching a Spanish-language voter awareness program, in hopes of avoiding possible confusion about the date of the Nov. 6 general election. This comes after County Recorder Helen Purcell announced two pieces of printed information with the incorrect date had been distributed.
Purcell says about 30 voter I.D. cards were distributed at the Recorder’s main office. She says the cards are punched out of a sheet. The remnants of those sheets had election information in English and Spanish. The Spanish version listed Nov. 8 as Election Day instead of Nov. 6.
In addition about 2,000 bookmarks with the incorrect date were distributed during the last several months. Purcell and several community leaders announced a Spanish-language campaign to make sure the correct information gets out.
Announcements will air on local Spanish language radio and television stations. State senator Steve Gallardo said the Recorder’s office responded appropriately.
I do want to thank Helen Purcell and Karen Osborn for working so quickly in fixing this printing error. It’s not a crime to make a printing error. It’s only a crime when you don’t do anything about it, and their rapid response to fix this and inform the public that Election Day is Nov. 6, is the right ting to do.
Purcell says her office has confirmed that all ballots and voter guides have the correct information. The county recorder said her office will spend about $30,000 on the outreach campaign.
