A post shared on Facebook purports Maricopa County in Arizona reduced the amount of poll places for the 2022 midterm elections.

Verdict: False

Maricopa County increased the amount of polling places from 175 in 2020 to 223 in 2022. The number of polling places increased from the August 2022 primary.

Fact Check:

Election Day in Maricopa County was marred by tabulation issues at approximately a third of polling places, which included incorrectly printed ballots, according to AZ Mirror. The issue was later solved and all unscanned votes were counted, the outlet reported.

The Facebook image claims Maricopa County reduced the number of polling places to “create issues like this.” The post does not specify the number of polling places or how big the alleged drop was. (RELATED: Is The Emergency Alert System On Standby For The 2022 Midterm Elections?)

This claim is false. Maricopa County has increased the amount of places where voters can go and cast their vote. In the 2020 general election, Maricopa County had 175 polling places open during the COVID-19 pandemic. This number increased to 210 polling places for the August 2022 primary.

“The Elections Department will use a phased approach to open 210-225 Vote Centers by Election Day. The phased opening approach increases reliability of in-person voting operations, and significantly expands a voter’s access to participate in the August Primary and November General elections,” reads the county’s election plans.

Maricopa County opened 223 polling places for the November 2022 general election, an increase of 13 from the primary and 52 from the 2020 general election. Maricopa County’s Election Director Scott Jarrett said in a Nov. 2 press conference that the county “expanded the number of voting locations from 175 to 223. That’s a 27% increase.”

The claim was first fact-checked by PolitiFact. Democratic Arizona gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs and incumbent Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly are currently leading their opponents, Kari Lake and Blake Masters, as of publishing time, according to The New York Times.

Claims of election fraud in Arizona have spread widely on social media since the 2022 midterm elections. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim suggesting the U.S. Military discovered election fraud in Arizona.