Arizona’s top judge has ordered courts in all 15 counties to keep their doors open until polls close Nov. 3 in case any election-related issues pop up.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel issued the order Thursday to require Arizona’s superior courts and their clerks’ offices to extend their hours of operation until polls close on Election Day "to ensure prompt consideration of any legal dispute regarding voting."
Supreme Court spokesman Aaron Nash said it’s the first time the court has issued such an order.
“We are planning ahead. Better to be prepared and not need it," Nash said. "There are tight time frames in election cases, so that’s another reason that the courts have to be ready.”
Polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Day, but the order specifies the courts should remain open "until all the polling locations in the county are closed to voters." It further instructs presiding judges to provide contact information to local elections officials so they can be reached if necessary after 5 p.m. on Nov. 3.
Nash said this order was partially inspired by lessons learned from Bush v. Gore, the Florida case that settled a contentious recount dispute during the 2000 election in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of former President George W. Bush.
