Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Meeting

On November 19th, I attended the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors formal meeting. I attended the meeting with Mary Ellen Shepard and it seemed short. The supervisors had already made their decisions prior to the start of the meeting and quickly voted on the proposals in the agenda. The most interesting part of the meeting was hearing from the Elections Department. After counting all the ballots, the department reported that 40,000 ballots were uncountable because they filled the ballot incorrectly or wrote down fictional names. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were write-ins for some county elected positions on several ballots. I met more county leaders and several staff members that work with the supervisors. I was able to ask them questions about their positions and share information about myself. Voter education and information is very important and can be effective in creating more civic participation. If I had more time in my internship, I would have liked to tour the Elections Department and learn how the county prepares for election days and the educational initiatives they are working on. Here is a link the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting website and the online video of the meeting I attended is available here.