Topline
Some vote-counting machines in Arizona’s Maricopa County malfunctioned on Election Day, leading state Republican leaders to spread unsubstantiated claims of fraud and offer contradictory advice to voters, with the state’s GOP chair Kelli Ward claiming without evidence that voters who follow county officials’ advice would essentially be letting someone else “decide how you voted.”
A voting tabulator glitch in Arizona’s Maricopa County has GOP officials claiming voter fraud, … [+]
Key Facts
Tabulators in roughly 20% of Maricopa County’s polling places are struggling to read some ballots, according to county Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates (R), who called the situation a “technical issue” in a press conference Tuesday afternoon, adding “none of this indicates any fraud.”
If a tabulator isn’t working, the county encouraged voters to place their ballots into a secure box marked “3,” and their votes will be tabulated in the evening at a central counting center.
However, in an interview Tuesday with former President Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon, Ward claimed voters who follow Maricopa County officials’ advice by submitting ballots into the secure box are sending their votes to “digital adjudication,” and urged voters to ignore the county’s guidance if at all possible.
Ward tweeted her own advice on Tuesday, telling voters to stay in line and request to use another machine called an accessible voting device, claiming voters who check into a polling place are stuck “like a prisoner” and can’t vote at another location—the county’s election department, however, denied that claim, saying voters have the option of checking out, turning in their ballot and going to another of the county’s polling sites.
In a tweet, Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake—who, like Ward, has repeatedly spread the false conspiracy that the 2020 election was stolen—also urged voters to ask for an accessible voting machine or wait until a tabulator starts working again, but differed from Ward in her advice for voters who “can’t wait,” advising them to put their ballots into box 3.
Trump-backed Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters retweeted a post urging voters not to leave their polling place for a new one if their votes aren’t counted, while Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social “don’t get out of line until you cast your vote,” claiming “they are trying to steal the election with bad machines and DELAY.”
Key Background
The baseless allegations of voter fraud come after months of debunked vote-rigging theories were spread by many GOP leaders, including 202 Republican congressional candidates who believe the 2020 election was either flawed or based on fraud, according to data from the Brookings Institution. A Gallup poll released last week found three in five Republicans believe votes in the midterms will be cast and counted inaccurately, compared to just 15% of Democrats. Nearly 40% of Republicans said they would blame voter fraud if the GOP doesn’t take control of Congress, including 19% who said it’s “highly likely” Republicans would lose because of fraud, according to an Axios-Ipsos poll released last month. In Maricopa County, misinformation claims “really kicked into high gear” last week, Gates said, although there have been numerous unsubstantiated allegations of fraud since the 2020 elections, leading to a 2021 audit of tabulators. Meanwhile, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs—the Democratic candidate for governor—is investigating numerous reports of voter intimidation.
Surprising Fact
Maricopa County, a traditionally Republican-leaning county that includes Phoenix, Glendale, Mesa and Scottsdale, is not only Arizona’s most populous county, but it’s also run by Republicans, including Gates. Election workers in the county have faced more than 100 violent threats and intimidation ahead of the election, including emails, social media posts and threats of posting photos of election workers, Reuters reported.
Further Reading
Republican Confidence In Elections Drops To New Low Ahead Of Midterms, Survey Finds (Forbes)
Nearly 40% Of Republicans Will Blame Election Fraud If Party Loses In Midterms, Poll Finds (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/11/08/arizona-vote-counting-issues-lead-to-baseless-fraud-claims-and-contradictory-advice-from-gop-leaders/