PHOENIX (AZ Family) — Election offices in Arizona’s High Country are grappling with distance and rural issues ahead of next week’s election.

Coconino County is the largest county in the state and the second largest in the lower 48 (plus D.C.), spanning 18,600 square miles.

On Election Day, votes come from Page, Williams and even as far as Supai Village in the Grand Canyon.

With just a few days until the election, Coconino County Recorder Patty Hansen says everything is ready.

“The presidential election is its own beast because of how busy we are at election time, but we want people to vote,” Hansen said.

Of course, distance is a huge obstacle when making elections in such a wide geography.

“Land size is the biggest challenge for the United States,” Hansen said. “The problem is we can’t expect people to drive hours to get to an early location or polling place.”

“But you can’t send an interpreter with early voting,” Hansen said.

A mobile voting center with interpreters was set up on the Navajo Nation. In Grand Canyon, the county sent two employees by helicopter to assist with election day in Supai, Hansen said.

“They are working with tribal members to hold the election and are voting by helicopter first thing Wednesday,” he said.

Dealing with misinformation is also a challenge throughout Coconino County.

The recorder’s office was forced to issue social media announcements dispelling rumors that ballots that were not 100% completed would not be counted. Hansen says it’s also difficult to dispel misinformation people hear on social media, but she encourages them to contact her office.

“I encourage these people, call us, we will explain what actually happened, and we have party observers stationed in our office right now,” he said.

As for early voting, Hansen said that at this point in 2020, 54 percent of early votes had already been returned, but this year that number has dropped to around 44 percent.

He believes Arizona’s long, two-page double-sided ballot is part of the reason for the low numbers right now, and suggests people bring sample ballots to speed up in-person voting.

“You know how you want to vote before you go to the polling place,” Hansen said.

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