Maricopa County, Arizona – Campaign battleground for election officials violent Threat – We have taken special measures to protect our staff and the counting of ballots.
The Guardian obtained documents from the county detailing security changes made since the 2020 election. These include having a Swat team stationed at the main building where votes are counted and security officers on horseback.
Maricopa County became a hotspot for subsequent controversy after facing false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. The county is Arizona’s most populous county, a key battleground state in the presidential election, and a battleground state for control of the U.S. Senate. Election officials face a flood of hateful and threatening messages via email and social media every day, and these threats have led to Clint Hickman not running for re-election as county supervisor this year. I decided to.
Documents provided to the Guardian by staff at the Maricopa County Counting and Elections Center (MCTEC) show how the county turned the building into a fortress.
Additional armed security personnel have been added at entrances and exits, and security officers are continually patrolling the area. Taylor Kinnapp, a spokeswoman for the county recorder’s office, said the door to the secure area has been replaced with one that requires badge access.
While waiting to be counted, ballots are kept in “secure cages” made of chain-link fences. Ballots are stored in these cages during lunch breaks, after-hours, and other pauses, Kinnup explained.
Kinup said there are always at least two people in the counting room where votes are counted. In these rooms, ports on the hard drives that record and store votes are blocked and there is no access to Wi-Fi, Kinup explained. They are connected by physical wires only to the servers in the building, only three people can be in the room with the servers, and the entire system is closed and not connected to the Internet.
If an IT representative is required, two other employees must be present. The document states that if visitors come, an “ambassador” will accompany them to maintain security, while “observers will be able to monitor the election process.”
The surveillance camera is Live stream for the public Monitor these rooms and other key facilities within the counting and election center. Cameras also continuously record inside and outside the MCTEC building; Anywhere a ballot is sent The building is under video surveillance. Surveillance cameras were upgraded and additional lighting and video surveillance was installed at the drop box, documents said.
The ballots are also protected from natural disasters and are stored in a “fireproof room,” Kinaap said, “so even if the whole building burned down, the ballots would be okay.”
The county did not say how much all of the security enhancements cost. But the county’s communications director said it has spent more than $25,000 since July 2023 to pay and equip election security workers.
Maricopa County Emergency Management spent $22,748.65 on security personnel/salary costs. An additional $2,587.75 was spent on uniforms, weapons, Tasers, radios and other equipment.
These steps are just part of the county’s efforts to prepare for the July primary and November general election. Many county officials meet regularly with outside experts, including David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, to discuss protecting against election threats.
“The threat environment in election offices has worsened, especially after the 2020 election,” Becker said. He said election security is critical in Maricopa County because there has been “a history of very big lies and people trying to take advantage of that opportunity to say the election was stolen.”
