Phoenix-area school districts opting out as vote centers over safety

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — County leaders rely on libraries, schools and churches to serve as polling locations during elections.

Here in Maricopa County, a hotbed for election conspiracy theories and threats against election workers, there is growing concern among district leaders about security on campus.

“If you think about the fact that people can carry weapons either concealed or not, people may be wearing body cameras, people are maybe sometimes have a belief fraud is happening, threats to election workers are a concern,” said Scott Menzel, the superintendent of Schools Unified School District.

Scottsdale Unified hasn’t offered up campuses as polling locations in several years.

Menzel points to concerns over parking, the time it takes to set up and break down and safety in a heightened political environment.

Since the 2020 election, there has been an increase in threats against election workers driven by misinformation about voter fraud.

Menzel said it isn’t worth the risk.

“We don’t need a flashpoint where someone might do something that is regrettable on a school campus,” said Menzel.

Mesa Public Schools, the largest school district in the state, is following suit.

It decided not to open up schools as vote centers this year.

“With our heightened safety protocols and after reviewing staff and student experiences of the past elections, we are unable to host a polling location at this time,” said district spokesperson Jennifer Snyder.

In the 2016 primary election, schools made up more than 32% of polling locations in the county.

That number dropped to 6.5% this past primary.

It is costing taxpayers more money.

The county is now upping the budget to fund vote centers as they search for other locations.

The cost for the primary and general elections jumped from $52,000 in 2016 to more than $915,000 this year.

This comes as some Republican lawmakers attack early and mail-in voting, which helps to alleviate the need for polling locations on Election Day.

Justin Heap, the Republican nominee for Maricopa County Recorder, voted earlier this year for bills that would have eliminated early and mail-in voting.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.