CNN
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Maricopa County Oversight Board Chairman Bill Gates moved to an undisclosed location on Election Day to threaten his safety, his spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Monday.
A Republican, Gates plays a key role in controlling elections in Arizona’s largest county. In the midterm elections, he openly opposed Republican suggestions that he had problems with the way county elections were conducted.
Gates’ spokesperson Zach Shira told CNN that Gates also has heightened security when performing his official duties.
Maricopa County spokesperson Jason Berry told CNN that Gates moved to an undisclosed location on Election Day after certain threats were made against him on social media. was under the custody of the sheriff’s office and stayed overnight in an undisclosed location.
Berry said there has been an increase in intimidation against campaign officials and officials around the election, not just the primaries earlier this year. , became the center of the world of election conspiracy theories.
“The chairman has said before that our environment of people spreading misinformation has certainly not helped. We’ve seen it in audits… Unfortunately, I think this is a situation we’ve been in for a few years and it has its ups and downs,” Berry told CNN.
Katie Hobbs, the state’s Democratic governor-elect, reacted to the news on “CNN This Morning.”
“We cannot tolerate it. This must end,” said Hobbes. “I think we survived a lot in the last election. We must hold these people accountable for the dangerous political rhetoric they are causing.”
Republican candidates running for Senate, Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State in Arizona have been a central part of their campaigns, promoting falsehoods about the 2020 election.Senate Candidate Blake Masters, Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake, and Secretary of State Candidate Mark Finkem all lost the electionthe race for Arizona Attorney General remains close.
Gates is openly refute the false allegations Created by GOP candidates at press conferences and media appearances. He also posted several videos on his Twitter answering questions about the election process and explaining in more detail how votes are counted.
On voting day printer problem At some Maricopa polling stations, Maricopa election officials explained that printer failures would not stop voting, but Republicans took up the issue.
A Maricopa County judge who was asked to rule on the issue said there was no evidence that people who wanted to vote couldn’t. Voters were instructed to put their ballots in secure ballot boxes instead of putting them in the machine due to printer issues.
Mr. Lake, who had the support of Mr. Trump, did not yield in the race after losing to Democrat Katie Hobbs, and continued to make unsubstantiated allegations to call into question the way elections were conducted in states. Masters, a prominent election naysayer who also supports Trump, called on Democratic Senator Mark Kelly to make concessions, but said, “There are clearly a lot of problems with this election.” . Finchem does not admit it, and continues to spread lies about elections, calling for new elections to be held.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
