A public hearing to discuss the problems encountered by voters in Maricopa County, Arizona, during last week’s primary election turned raucous at times as residents told of having to wait for as long as five hours to cast a ballot, and others reporting they were informed their polling place would close and they would not be allowed to vote at all.

Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, who oversees elections in the county, opened the hearing with her oft-repeated mea culpa, which she has been using since the problems began:

‘I want to begin by apologizing for what took place. As I said in the past, I am deeply sorry.’

Those who showed up to voice their anger, frustration, and outright disgust were in no mood to hear Purcell’s apology. Patrick Syfter commented:

‘Our right to vote and to have that vote counted is the most direct way that citizens can participate in our political system… People tried to do our civic duty and couldn’t. You made people choose between voting and keeping their jobs. You must resign. Stop pretending that you represent us. We do not want platitudes. This will not end today. We will be back every vote to hold you accountable.’

Another man, Air Force veteran Dean Palmer, said he literally saw people weeping when they were told they could not vote:

‘My experience down there, it was tough. People in wheelchairs and canes in the heat. We were out of provisional ballots at 7am. So many people, they wheeled up there and got hit with the sprinklers. So many people, they couldn’t take it. They had to leave, people were crying.’

The hearing was so packed that it required two rooms filled to overflowing, and at one point had to be postponed because of protests and shouts coming from the gallery of angry people gathered to voice their opinion on what happened during the primary.

Elections supervisor Purcell has said the reason for the problems experienced by so many Maricopa County voters was because she didn’t anticipate so many voters in a primary and therefore didn’t have enough polling places open to accommodate the large numbers of citizens who showed up. That, another resident said, is just the tip of the iceberg, telling Purcell:

‘The corruption has become so prevalent, that you became comfortable, and you became so comfortable, that you became lazy, and you became so lazy, that you got caught. You are a snake in the grass and we see you!’

Here’s more on the Maricopa hearing today:

Featured Image Via ABC15 Screengrab