Election officials took responsibility Wednesday for the long lines and confusion at the polls during Tuesday's voting process.

Many voters waited for hours to vote in the state's Presidential Preference Election. Many were still in line long after the polls closed. Some gave up and left before casting their ballots because they couldn't wait any longer or had to get back to work.

"I take full responsibility for what happened yesterday," Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell told the County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday. She and state Elections Director Karen Osborne answered questions and addressed the issues and concerns many people now have after what went wrong.

In the 2012 presidential primary, Maricopa County had 200 polling places. This time? There were 60. The county cut the number of polling places to save money and because so many residents vote using early ballots.

"We know that 86 percent of everybody who voted yesterday...voted by mail,” said Osborne.

Purcell said she underestimated voter turnout and the effect of fewer polling places. She said she made bad decisions based on the information she had and that led to the long waits. Purcell said she took into consideration the number of people on the early voting list.

Purcell also said that many people didn't realize they couldn't officially mark a ballot because they were registered as Independents.

Osborne addressed concerns that not every vote counted.

"Even though there were people in line for long hours, every single one of those ballots was tabulated," she said. "They were tabulated last night. There was nothing that went wanting.”

"We did stay. We did count those last night, and they are posted," she continued.