Maricopa County hiring new workers to help with high voter call volume

With the election less than three weeks away, the Maricopa County Elections Department is busier than ever. So busy, in fact, they're looking to hire more workers to field the high volume of phone calls from voters who have questions about the upcoming election.

On Oct. 12 alone, over 9,000 people have called for election help, and the phone system is overloaded.

"On Monday, the more than 9,300 calls that came in. That’s actually more than what we had for Election Day in the August primary," said Erika Flores with the Maricopa County Elections Department.

Flores says the number one most asked question right now is how to register to vote.
 
"We are the fastest-growing county in the United States, so we do tend to get people moving from out of state moving here, so there may be voters who have never voted in an election," said Flores.

The next most asked questions are how to find the nearest early voting locations and how to request a replacement ballot.

Most of the solutions are online, and election workers guide voters through the process to register to vote online, educate them on how to download a form, and the proper identification needed. In addition, workers also look up and provide the nearest in-person and drop-off voting centers, and they can issue replacement ballots.

Currently, there are about 45 Maricopa County employees dedicated to answering calls, but that’s not enough to handle the record-high influx of calls about the upcoming election. 

Maricopa County is in the process of hiring several dozen more temporary workers in the coming days, and adding about 100 more phone lines.

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