Donald Trump supporters hold up a “Trump wins” sign before a rally in Florence, Arizona on Jan. 15. The former president, who lost state and presidential elections in 2020, endorsed candidates who rejected numerous elections in Arizona. Year.
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Donald Trump supporters hold up a “Trump wins” sign before a rally in Florence, Arizona on Jan. 15. The former president, who lost state and presidential elections in 2020, endorsed candidates who rejected numerous elections in Arizona. Year.
Robin Beck/AFP via Getty Images
For the past two years, Arizona has been a haven for election oppositionism.
State Senate Republicans led a critically flawed review of the 2020 ballot in Arizona’s largest county, keeping Maricopa County in the spotlight for months.
Former President Donald Trump was in the state just last week to get a list of Republican candidates who will reject the election, including the gubernatorial candidate. Kali Lake Congressman Mark Finkem, who is running for Secretary of State.
Despite discredited reviews and false claims about the 2020 election, this year’s primary will take place on Tuesday, and it’s not all that different in Maricopa County.
Republican Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Record Keeper, said, “For all the hoopla about election administration, it’s going to look very similar to the 2020 experience from a user’s perspective. .
Richer is quick to point out that the election review found nothing wrong with the Maricopa County election, despite all its flaws, because the county debunked allegations of wrongdoing so thoroughly. The review also confirmed that Trump lost a state in 2020.
“I think the Maricopa County election process has been more scrutinized than any US jurisdiction,” said Richer. “And, as you know, we know that the process has no fundamental flaws.”
Maricopa County’s 2022 primary has a few new wrinkles. Example: Most ballot drop boxes are gone. Instead, the county has increased the number of vote centers so that all voters can vote along the way or vote early.
But it’s optional. Counties can make small changes at the local level. As usual, most of the election will be determined by state law, including how early ballots were mailed to most Maricopa County voters in early July.
While laws were enacted to repeal the state’s popular mail-in voting system, many Republicans, like Richer and Maricopa County Director Bill Gates, lobbied to prevent them from becoming law. I was going (New laws that would make significant changes to state early voting lists are not yet in force.)
Gates said, “We are against so many forces within the Republican Party here in Arizona, and nationally, that continue to spread this misinformation.” In particular, some people have stood up and supported the electoral officials.”
Gates specifically credits GOP House Speaker Rusty Bowers, who angered Trump by rejecting an attempt to overturn the 2020 election.Bowers with one hand torpedo Some far-reaching election bills.
“I think this shows the realization that our system is working. All this talks about problems with the system. [was] It’s political, not real,” Gates said.
Bill of Maricopa County testifies at a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Oct. 7, 2021, to consider a Republican-led review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous county. Gates director.
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That reality is a testament to the work of officials like Maricopa County’s co-electoral administrators Rey Valenzuela and Scott Jarrett.
Hired in 2019, Jarrett described the past two years as a trial on fire. All in all, he said he felt “energized” by the upcoming election.
Valenzuela said the two are now spending more time actively spreading good news to counter bad news.
“On a personal level, it’s difficult. We want voters to not only make their own choices and participate in the process, but to give them the most accurate and best information possible to know that their elections are safe. Because we want them to be safe and have integrity,” he said.
The lie about the 2020 vote still resonates with many of the state’s Republican voters, but a successful 2022 election could allow the county to turn a corner for 2024.
