You’re A Part Of The Problem; AZ Elections Chief Blasts MAGA
Between now and November, both the Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigns are gearing up to focus heavily on Arizona—a key battleground state that could swing either way in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, according to recent polls.
Arizona is also the stage for a highly anticipated U.S. Senate race, where Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego is facing off against far-right MAGA Republican Kari Lake.
They are vying for the seat currently held by independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who was formerly a Democrat.
Arizona Republic reporter Mary Jo Pitzl has reported that MAGA activists have revealed plans to keep an eye on ballot drop boxes.
In a letter addressed to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, these activists outlined their monitoring efforts. They also extended an invitation to collaborate with the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as part of their initiative.
Mayes has made it clear that “voter intimidation” will not be allowed.
“The letter didn’t go over well with the state officials, both of whom are Democrats,” Pitzl reports. “They argued that the letter wasn’t sent in good faith, pointing out that it’s often been conservative groups like CPAC that have fueled doubts about the integrity of U.S. elections…
Mayes, in a statement, expressed her willingness to collaborate, but only if CPAC acknowledges ‘the indisputable fact’ that Arizona’s elections have been conducted fairly.
As the state’s top law enforcement officer, she also emphasized that she will not tolerate any attempts to use open-source information to try to identify voters—something that CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp suggested might be considered as a way to identify people who monitors might believe are ineligible to vote.”
The Arizona attorney general — who has indicted Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and other Trump allies on criminal charges in an election interference case — warned, “I want to be extremely clear that I will not stand for any voter intimidation, and that includes using ‘open-source’ information to identify individuals using a drop box to vote.”
Aaron Thacker, Fontes’ communications director, was also quite forceful, saying, “To come out and pretend like you recognize the problem and that you want to help is so disingenuous when you’re a part of the problem. They need to lead with a mea culpa, not pointing fingers.”
Pitzl notes that Arizona also had voter intimidation concerns two years ago.
“In Arizona’s 2022 fall election,” Pitzl reports, “there were instances of armed monitors watching as voters dropped off their ballots. A federal judge, in response, ruled the monitors must observe the same 75-foot limit as exists at polling locations.”