U.S. News
Arizona election official in hiding over threats after Kari Lake defeat [Video]
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- A top election official in Maricopa County said Sunday he moved to an “undisclosed location.”
- Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates made the move after his office received death threats.
- Kari Lake, who lost the governor race, raised doubts about the election and suggested legal action.
A top election official in Arizona went into hiding on Sunday due to security concerns in the wake of the 2022 midterm elections.
Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates confirmed to the local Fox affiliate KSAZ-TV that he moved to an “undisclosed location” with a security detail from the sheriff’s office. Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, is the state’s most populous, with more than 4.4 million residents.
Gates, a lifelong Republican, is one of the leaders of the Maricopa County Elections Department and has been a staunch defender of the county’s elections.
He has rejected the false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and has since become the target of violent threats and intimidation by right-wing extremists and attacks by members of his own party after President Biden’s Arizona win in 2020.
Issues at polling locations in Maricopa County on November 8 have fueled additional outcry from other conservatives, especially failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and her supporters.
Lake, who was endorsed by Trump, lost the election to Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, but has since refused to concede, instead casting doubt on the election process and promising to assemble a legal team.
The Associated Press reported about 17,000 ballots were unable to be scanned at some sites but were instead collected and counted by different machines at the county’s main elections office. Those ballots were collected in what was called “box three.”
County officials said every ballot cast was counted and that voters had the option to visit any polling place, which included some without long lines. Gates also partially blamed the long lines on Republicans and said they scared GOP voters away from placing ballots in “box three” to be counted at election headquarters.
“This team, we have accepted our responsibility in this,” Gates said on November 14, according to AP. “But I’m not willing to accept responsibility for issues that were caused by others. And it is clear to me that those lines were longer because leaders in one political party were spreading misinformation.”
Arizona’s Republican attorney general, Mark Brnovich, on Saturday wrote a letter requesting a report from Maricopa County on the problems with the printers and other issues.
In another closely watched Arizona race, incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly fended off a challenge from Trump-endorsed Republican Blake Masters. Masters also said there were “obviously a lot of problems with this election,” previously citing long lines and issues with ballot printers, but ultimately called Kelly to concede.
Source: Independent
Tha Count
November 22, 2022 at 6:48 pm
Ofcourse the Democrat thieves and their republican never Trumper dogs accomplices recognize the obvious. There were issues with the midterm elections, but we want Kelly to concede. Yes morons, right the way. How about you morons hold new midterm elections, one day and at the end of the day you do what the state of Florida did. Come up with the winner who ever he or she is. Got that morons?
Win
November 25, 2022 at 11:24 pm
Tha count you are right.We are all a bit tired of all the lying when we are smart enough to know the truth.This is a repeat of the 2020 election.I hope we can get to the bottom of this election fraud once and for all.
The Guilty Run
November 22, 2022 at 6:49 pm
False claims?!?! Bullshit. He’s just hiding from subpoenas for his illegal actions. He owes the prison a few years of his life.
Candy
November 23, 2022 at 1:14 am
I Agree !!!!!
Dan
November 22, 2022 at 6:52 pm
It isn’t right to threaten him but some people get tired of the lies you pump out about your elections bring fair.
You know better. Both 2020 and 2022 were anything but fair. Do you think it is fair for someone running for governor to oversee the election?
Candy
November 23, 2022 at 1:13 am
I totally Agree
Bill
November 22, 2022 at 7:04 pm
Lake, time to put up (take legal action) and demand a recount (which SHE must pay for) OR fold up her tent and fade away. Maricopia County has withstood successfully multiple challenges during 2020; what’s different about this? Crybaby
John Warren
November 22, 2022 at 7:04 pm
Maricopa County has a record of always being in the middle of corrupt elections and incompetent election officials.
Bill Gates and the entire Maricopa election staff should be hunted down and locked up. Or better yet, publish his hide location.
Shirley
November 22, 2022 at 7:08 pm
Katie Hobbs should have never been allowed to oversee the elections when she herself was running & there actually is a law stating that. It’s like putting a Fox in charge of the hen house &days later asking the fox what happen to the hens. We all know it was once again rigged. Be prepared people the Lord is watching. Laugh & celebrate all you want we will have the last laugh.
Steve Mullany
November 22, 2022 at 7:11 pm
Katie Hobbs didn’t even bother to create an appearance of fairness. Was it unavoidable that the Democratic candidate for Governor had to be in charge of running the elections for her own office? She had two years to fix the machine problems of 2020, but now the problems are worse. There is one thing I’m sure of: Kari Lake will not stop until she is governor!
Andrew
November 22, 2022 at 7:13 pm
Fuck the democrats
Richard Izzo
November 22, 2022 at 7:21 pm
The power smuckes in both parties that want to keep their gravy train going are responsible for flushing election integrity down the drain.
PFETXN
November 22, 2022 at 7:31 pm
As noted, these machines were thoroughly checked out the day before Nov.8 (election day). All were reported working flawlessly. What’s wrong with those machines on the election day? This is why the voters questioned about the integrity of the election. Same crap happened in the last Presidential Election, and we wonder why. Let re-do the election day again. Make it a one-day election not one-month please.
Larry Turman
November 22, 2022 at 7:44 pm
Hobbs, got lessons from the democratic party in California. On how to steal an election. As did Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and DC.
The Arizona election SHOULD be thrown out. She, Hobbs should have recused herself .she, didn’t and now faces the consequences. Are, unions guilty. Democratic union members need to wake up. The Democrat party has changed. They forced companies to leave America. Killing good union jobs.
Ken
November 23, 2022 at 4:46 pm
The problem is the red wave is growing so fast and large the voting machine cheating programs aren’t capable of hiding the manipulation, which is why the Dems have to keep stopping to adjust the coding. They are trying to keep the vote count manipulation to a minimum so as not to be embarrassingly obvious.
Tom Mitchell
November 25, 2022 at 7:43 am
You named 6 states plus District of Columbia. If so much illegal manipulation is happening, a lot!, why can’t you prove it. Thousands of Democrats conspiring to steal our election, yet no one has had a change of heart and turned whistleblower.
OX
November 23, 2022 at 8:26 am
If I were that election official, I would move out of the State. This election doesn’t pass the smell test. One has to ask themselves. Arizona is a border State. why would anyone want to vote Democrat, to continue the flooding of illegals into Arizona, tho continue the failed domestic and foreign policies, of Lying Corrupt Quid Pro KING Joe? the first thing the democrat Gov., is going to do is remove those shipping containers, plugging up the gapa in the border fence, to put out the welcome mat for the illegals.
Chastran
November 23, 2022 at 11:51 am
You can run, but you can’t hide. You’ll be found and made to account for your treachery…
Fred
November 23, 2022 at 1:18 pm
Gates isn’t a Republican, he’s a RINO who did everything he could to obstruct the 2020 audit. I question if the alleged threats are even real, it looks more like propaganda designed to discredit anyone who dares question the obvious election malfeasance and manipulate public opinion. TRUTH invites being questioned, LIES hate being challenged.
Ken
November 23, 2022 at 4:37 pm
There is no doubt the election was stolen again. This claim by Gates is false and the prelude to claiming Lake is a terrorist and inciting violence. We seen this show before. It is time to take this crowd down.