Fresh off a troubled presidential primary marked by long lines and frustrated voters, Arizona officials are debating changes in how the state weighs in on the race for the White House.
Arizona’s top election official, Republican Secretary of State Michele Reagan, is supporting legislation that would stop state presidential primary funding and push Arizona to a party-funded caucus system.
Meanwhile, nearby Utah is considering going the opposite direction — returning to a primary — after its caucuses Tuesday saw disappointing turnout and voter confusion.
Another Arizona Republican, Gov. Doug Ducey, wants to include even more potential voters and is demanding election fixes to avoid a repeat of Tuesday’s hours-lines lines at polls in the state’s largest county.
In Utah, Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday he would like to see his state return to a presidential primary after far fewer people participated in its caucuses this year than in 2008, the last presidential election without a sitting president.
The state’s Republican Party chose to run a caucus. The Legislature didn’t fund a primary, leading Democrats to hold party-run caucuses as well.
