Bill Gates, chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said at a press conference that while providing an update on Arizona’s vote numbers, threats to election officials are “a part of life for me and my colleagues.” He said that it has become
Gates, along with county recorder Stephen Richer, responded to questions about tally and election center security enhancements on Thursday, saying threats to the center and its employees have been consistent since the 2020 presidential election. I was.
“It’s part of life for me and my colleagues now,” Gates said. “And it shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be for every election worker and election official across the county, but it’s a way of life now. And more people are starting to speak up and it’s absolutely acceptable. We need to start saying no.”
Gates added that he has a message for those who continue to intimidate election officials.
“I want you to stop and think about Grandpa,” he said. “My grandpa was a WWII veteran who was in Europe…and he helped defeat the Germans.I want them to think about it.He fought there.” was
“He wasn’t fighting for the right to make a life-threatening phone call or text someone,” Gates continued. So my grandfather wouldn’t have been cool with that, and to me it says it all.”
Republicans in Arizona called for election reform after problems arose with some tallying machines in Maricopa County during Tuesday’s election. County officials have also denied several allegations that the center committed voter fraud in 2020. This is a claim promoted by former President Donald Trump.
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Election officials said more than 1.1 million votes had been tallied so far, but the final count is expected to wait until early next week. The next voting round containing between 60,000 and 80,000 tickets will be released around 10pm EST. Jonathan Coopera political reporter for the Associated Press (AP) based in Phoenix.
The first reports of mail-in ballots, which were handed out to polling stations on Tuesday, are expected to be cast on Friday, election officials said. Vaughan Hillyardan NBC News correspondent wrote on Twitter that the new round of mail-in ballots “believes to show the trend for these races in Arizona.”
The Arizona Senate and Gubernatorial races are one of the hottest spots this midseason. Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, who is at odds with Arizona’s Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, became a leading right-wing politician during the campaign and is even considered the 2024 vice presidential candidate.
71% of the vote on Thursday new york times Lake reportedly trailed Hobbs slightly, from 49.58% to 50.42%.
Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters is running against Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly, trailing him 46.3% to 51.5%. times.
Newsweek We reached out to Gates for comment on his message to election deniers.
Updated 11/10/2022 8:18 PM: This article has been updated with additional information and background.
