The Arizona Republican election official, who was targeted by conservative conspiracy theorists during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, has announced that he will not run for a new term.
Maricopa County Oversight Board Chairman Bill Gates announced Thursday, previous story The number of election officials who resigned after facing threats against unsubstantiated right-wing claims that the election was stolen.
Sources close to Gates told CNN His decision not to seek re-election does not mean the end of Gates’ political career, nor was it motivated by threats against him. Still, right-wing activists are likely to view his decision as suggesting that their violent and conspiratorial rhetoric could prompt officials to resign.
Gates in May told the Washington Post He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the hateful attacks and intimidation he and his family endured after the 2020 election and beyond.
Multiple surveys of the 2020 and 2022 election cycles found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Maricopa County (the most populous county in Arizona, including Phoenix) or any other county in the United States.
Here I can’t help but see parallels between Gates and other election officials across the country who have been vocal about the pressure they experienced as a target of right-wing conspiracy theories. People like former Fulton County, Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman and his daughter Shay Moss. Both women faced racist verbal abuse and death threats after being falsely accused of election fraud by Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and others before a House committee on Jan. 6. testified about.
‘Nowhere feels safe’ Freeman Said,addition:
Do you know how it feels to be targeted by the President of the United States? The President of the United States represents all Americans. Don’t target one. he targeted me A proud American who stood up to help run an election in Fulton County during a pandemic.
In her testimony, Moss highlighted racist comments and violent messages she received. “There were many threats like, ‘I’m glad it’s 2020, it wasn’t like that.'” 1920”
House Jan. 6 committee member Adam Schiff (D-California) posed an important question during Freeman and Moss’ testimony.
If the most powerful man in the world can lie with a mountain of big, heavy lies and put all the pressure of the presidency on an ordinary man who is just doing his job, who among us is safe? I wonder?
That seems to me to be a question the Department of Justice must answer. Voting rights activists have long accused the Justice Department of failing to enforce voting rights and defend those under attack by forces seeking to intimidate people, including election officials.
The Justice Department has attempted to silence some of its criticisms by: Created several initiatives to promote efforts to combat harassment of election officials. But the jury is still out on the extent of the Justice Department’s success or whether its victory will hold up into the upcoming elections.
As for Arizona, Gates’ choice to step down is a worrying sign – especially since he and other members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, who are up for re-election, are more conservative alternatives. This is the case when replacing with .
Republicans in Arizona have articulated sinister goals against Maricopa County. Right-wing members of state legislatures are aware that it is an obstacle to their electoral chances in the state, I suggested breaking it up into pieces to weaken its power (and perhaps increase their own power).
But with Mr. Gates stepping down, those conservatives may feel that their tactics have been validated. And if the bill doesn’t pass, we may soon find another way to interfere in the Maricopa County election. Arizona has been seen as a key “battlefield state” in recent times, and any changes to its board composition could have far-reaching implications for national politics.
