The Arizona Freedom Caucus (AFC) blasted Maricopa County Election Officials for allegedly breaking the law during this election cycle and demanded that the officials involved resign from their positions.

“After taking an absurd and unnecessary amount of time to count ballots, we are now finding Maricopa County election officials may not merely be incompetent but may also be criminals,” said AFC Chairman, State Rep. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek).

The AFC is comprised of five other State Representatives aside from Hoffman. The group said that election officials in charge of Maricopa County have “utterly, and embarrassingly, failed the people” of Arizona and that the only way forward is to “resign in shame.” Whether the issues seen on Election Day were simple mistakes or done with ulterior motives, the AFC said that, like anyone who fails at their job, Maricopa County election officials should be fired.

The Arizona Sun Times reached out to the AFC and Maricopa County Elections Department for additional comments but did not hear back.

The group alleged that Maricopa County officials, like Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates and County Recorder Stephen Richer, are criminals because of a letter sent to the county regarding its handling of the 2022 General Election. The letter, written by Jennifer Wright of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (AGO), demanded the county provide a comprehensive report of all issues that occurred with tabulation machines on Election Day. Moreover, the letter also alleged that, based on complaints submitted to the AGO’s Elections Integrity Unite, the county appears to have broken Arizona election laws.

The possible violations outlined by the letter include improperly trained poll workers giving false instructions to voters affected by tabulation issues, and uncounted ballots dropped in “Door 3” on Election Day being intermingled with already tabulated votes at some election centers.

Wright required the county to submit its response and reports by November 28th before it certifies its official canvass of the vote for the Secretary of State’s office.

In a statement from Gates, he said the county is currently working on its response to the AGO, which it will deliver by the deadline. Gates said the county is finished counting legal ballots and is prepared to conduct the canvass as required by Arizona law. Two counties have stated they will delay certifying their canvass as long as possible because of the irregulates seen on Election Day.

KTAR reported that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office had to move Gates to an “undisclosed location” because of “safety concerns” following the election. Yet, Gates said these concerns were “blown out of proportion” but that threats of violence should “never be normalized.”

However, as reported by the Sun Times, no matter the county’s explanation, it appears that tabulation issues on Election Day unequivocally affected Republicans more than Democrats. Of the 70 voting locations that experienced a problem on November 8th, 59 were in Republican-heavy areas. Moreover, Republicans voted far more in person than Democrats on Election Day, who more so voted by mail-in ballots. Because of the heavy red turnout on Election Day, Republicans are the ones most affected by these issues.

Moreover, beyond the AFC, other Arizonans are seeking the resignation of Gates and Richer. Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim O’Connor called for the entire Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to lose their jobs over this election and that there should be a 100 percent hand count of this election to ensure there was no fraud at play.

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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “People Voting” by Phil Roeder. CC BY 2.0.

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