Those in Fountain Hills who stood in line for an hour to an hour and a half to cast a ballot in last week’s presidential preference election were comparatively the lucky ones.

Lines of a mile or more were reported at polling stations around the Phoenix area with waits exceeding three hours. At one voting location, the last ballot was cast after midnight – more than five hours after the polls closed. Those in line at 7 p.m. were allowed to stick it out to vote.

In Fountain Hills the longest wait was reported to be about 90 minutes. The line extended through the lobby of the Community Center, but never far outside the main door.

Town Clerk Bev Bender, the town’s primary election official, said she made several trips to the polling site during the day and, at one point, the wait was no more than 10 to 15 minutes.

Bender, who had no role in overseeing this election, believes there is an array of reasons things went wrong. That seems to be the theme countywide with the number of people pointing fingers in different directions.

The biggest reason seems to be the decision to reduce the number of polling sites from 200 for the same election four years ago, to just 60 this time around. By comparison, Pinal County had more than 80 voting sites.

Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell is taking a lot of the heat for reducing the number of polling sites. She said the move was primarily a cost cutting measure. The decision was approved by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

A number of officials appear ready to hold investigations into the situation, so reasons for the delay are undetermined but appear numerous.

Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan held a press conference Monday morning to announce a series of public meetings to be scheduled around the county to hear from voters.

“We want to get the best information we can about what happened,” Reagan said.

She said they would also hold meetings outside Maricopa County to see what other counties did right.

Voters can also go directly to the Secretary of State’s web site to tell “My election story,” Reagan said. The web address is az.sos.gov/my election story.

When pressed by reporters Reagan said she wished she had spoken up about the potential for too few polling sites in Maricopa County.

“I take full responsibility for not speaking up,” Reagan said. She added however that the county has no obligation to listen to her advice.

“The Secretary of State has no statutory authority to direct county officials,” Reagan said.

The Arizona Legislature’s election’s committee was also meeting Monday to hold hearings and consider possible legislation to avoid such a situation in the future.

It appears that a significant number of people who were unaffiliated with one of the parties, or independent, got in line to cast a ballot. Those individuals had to be given a provisional ballot, which takes longer to process at the polling site.

Provisional ballots are verified after the fact to determine the eligibility of the voter before being counted.

Reagan stated Wednesday her office would look into the long lines at the polls.

“The issues that arose with the amount of time voters had to stand in line, confusion surrounding eligibility and other issues are completely unacceptable,” Reagan said in a press release.

“My office will launch a full-scale statewide review of county election policies and procedures.”

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton has sent a letter to the Justice Department asking for a federal investigation.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is calling for reforms after the election.

“…People should not have to wait four hours or stand in lines around a city block in order to cast their ballots,” Brnovich said in a press release.

He also said, “I want to ensure that all voters who are following the rules have a chance to cast their ballots in a fair and neutral environment.”

That statement is a call to the Legislature to block the release of election results while people are still waiting to vote.

Bender also believes there needs to be an effort to better communicate with voters related to any upcoming elections and special rules or conditions that might apply.

There are three more elections for Fountain Hills residents this year including the November General Election that includes the presidential race.

In May, there is a special statewide election with two ballot questions. In August, Fountain Hills voters will be selecting candidates for Town Council and mayor. Any of those not elected outright in August will appear on the November ballot in a runoff.

The November election also has county, state and federal offices on the ballot.