AILSA CHANG, HOST:
All right. We're covering swing states as part of our series We, The Voters all this election season. And in Arizona, election officials are tackling a new issue - having enough polling locations. NPR political reporter Ximena Bustillo was out in Arizona's Maricopa County with our team, and she joins us now. Hey, Ximena.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: So Maricopa County - it's among the largest counties in the entire country, and it could help determine control of the White House, right?
BUSTILLO: Yeah. So since the last presidential election, officials have worked to physically strengthen voting locations. But there has been a particular challenge when it comes to which places have decided to stay involved. One school superintendent in the Phoenix area said that his district used to have 17 voting locations. Now it just has one, and it's this very secure district office that even he describes as a fortress. It has a tall fence, barbed wire and panic buttons. The superintendent was permitted to speak to NPR on the condition of anonymity, out of concern that he would receive even more threats. And he said he faced pushback when asking people to move away if they were carrying weapons or protesting, as is necessary to comply with election law.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: What happened is the rhetoric got stronger, higher, louder. And that's what brought me to the decision of from a safety perspective, I can't have those kinds of incidences that we're making the front page on my campuses.
BUSTILLO: And other schools responded this way, too. So the county said that they had a challenge recruiting other organizations.
CHANG: OK. Well, then, what can you tell us about how the county is trying to fill in all of these gaps when it comes to voting locations?
BUSTILLO: Well, they sought out deeper partnerships with others. I found two groups - the Arizona Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Maricopa County Community College System. Both told me that they have had churches or campuses serve as polling or ballot drop-off locations in the past. But this year, they saw an increase in the need for their facilities. Here's Candice Copple, spokesperson for the Arizona LDS Church.
CANDICE COPPLE: We have members of the church in both political parties and across the spectrum. We value the privilege to vote, and we want to be helpful by making it easier for people to have a nearby location to cast their ballots.
BUSTILLO: About 30 of their buildings are being used this year. And I also got to meet with leadership at the community college where they just set up their ballot drop box in a new location in Phoenix.
CHANG: Let's take a listen to what you found.
(SOUNDBITE OF PING-PONG BALLS BOUNCING)
BUSTILLO: Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo makes her way through the South Mountain Community College Student Union, serving students in South Phoenix.
DEANNA VILLANUEVA-SAUCEDO: So it is often a hub of activity. You come in here, and you see students all the time.
(CROSSTALK)
BUSTILLO: And this year the student union is serving as one of the county's newest voting locations. Maricopa Community Colleges now host nine voting sites.
VILLANUEVA-SAUCEDO: I think we've hit a new high this election cycle, but this isn't the first time for us.
BUSTILLO: Villanueva-Saucedo says that she sees this role in elections as a part of the mission of community colleges.
VILLANUEVA-SAUCEDO: Really, one of the reasons that we were created was to help fulfill civic life, that fuller realization of democracy.
BUSTILLO: For the county, South Mountain was just in the precinct they needed, and it checked all the boxes.
VILLANUEVA-SAUCEDO: County elections has an entire checklist of things that have to be done in order to be a vote center - square footage, a number of outlets. Like, they have all of their statutory requirements.
BUSTILLO: While others have experienced threats and intimidation, Villanueva-Saucedo says that she is fortunate to not have seen this at their locations. They already have public safety officers, police, and other security for events and managing all kinds of activity on their public campuses. Instead, Villanueva-Saucedo is looking forward to filling this role.
VILLANUEVA-SAUCEDO: I feel excellent going into this election season. I get really jazzed (laughter) by the fact that we can be offering this critical service to our community.
BUSTILLO: And she will take that excitement across her campuses through November 5. Ximena Bustillo, NPR News, Phoenix. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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