Phoenix Mayor calls for independent federal probe over Arizona primary voting mess

Voters stand in line to vote in the U.S. presidential primary election in Cave Creek, AZ March 22, 2016. [Reuters]

The Arizona primary was a mess. Photos and videos of would-be voters standing in lines hundreds of people long circulated throughout the afternoon and evening, and the media called the results for Clinton and Trump well before all votes were in. Lines were more than five hours long in some spots.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton wants the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the possibility that Maricopa County elections officials illegally put fewer presidential primary polling locations in areas where voters are mostly poor or not white.

From mayor Stanton to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, this letter was just filed [PDF Link].

In the letter, the mayor says all voters may not have been treated equally. Policies adopted by elections officials and state Legislature have "created a culture of voter disenfranchisement," he wrote.

Read the letter here.