The battle against election denialism in key swing state of Arizona

Battleground state has been at the centre of election conspiracy theories

Supporters of Donald Trump rally outside the Maricopa County Recorder's Office in Phoenix, Arizona, in November 2020. AP

Latest updates: Follow our full coverage on the US election

Hours away from election day on Monday, officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, huddled into a jam-packed press conference in downtown Phoenix to broadcast a simple plea: accept the results, no matter what they may be.

“We understand that there are some out there who have questions about how our elections are run … that's why we've tried to be as transparent as possible,” said county supervisor Bill Gates.

“We're asking for something in return. We're asking for our residents to be good citizens, and in particular for those people who are involved in these elections, if they're not successful, we're asking them to accept these results and move on and congratulate the winner.”

That request comes after a tense four years for the county in Arizona that has been a poster child of sorts for the election denialism that ran wild across the US after Donald Trump's loss to Joe Biden in 2020.

Although the county was long a Republican stronghold, Mr Biden flipped it in 2020. Mr Trump and his team demanded an audit of the votes, claiming election fraud. Auditors released a report in September 2021 confirming that no evidence of fraud had been discovered.

But Mr Trump would continue to promote election conspiracies over the next four years. Fuelled by anger over alleged fraud, Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021, in an effort to overturn the results.

In Maricopa County, pro-Trump campaigners such as Shelby Busch have led the denialism charge.

Ms Busch, who has been embraced by the Arizona Republican Party, started her own political action committee mobilising on election denialism, investigating claims of fraud that have been unsubstantiated.

In addition to raising money, she has also threatened to take more direct action against perceived electoral fraud, threatening at a city hall meeting to “lynch” Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County recorder. She later clarified that she only meant a “political” lynching.

Mr Richer on Monday appeared confident going into election day.

“We are ready. We have the resources that we need. We have a great team that is well trained and ready for a very successful election day tomorrow,” he said.

The vote-tabulation building in Phoenix has installed a rigid security apparatus in the run-up to Tuesday, including drone surveillance, as election officials face increasing threats from the public.

Inside that fortress, election officials have undertaken “innovative” steps to combat the spread of conspiracy theories – including a 24/7 online streaming service with 360º views of the election centre, with voters able to continually monitor the tabulation.

Taylor Kinnerup, communications director for the Maricopa County Recorder's Office, told The National that staff members “encourage those who have questions about the process to really engage with that and look at it”.

“Because we're not asking people to take our word,” she said.

Security barriers outside the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre in Phoenix, Arizona. Bloomberg

Election officials have also opened the centre to public tours, demonstrating the vote-counting process and taking questions from sceptical voters.

Ms Kinnerup said that county surveys demonstrate that these programmes are working, with visitors having more faith in the election process after a tour.

“It's a lot easier to come into a conversation disarmed when you were in person versus when you're behind your (computer) keyboard,” she said.

“It feels a lot less like you have to treat that person like a person versus when you stand in front of somebody, you really are confronted with 'Am I really accusing this individual of stealing an election?'”

The US Department of Homeland Security has warned of a “heightened risk” of violence this election cycle, including from extremists attempting to sabotage ballots – a threat assessment that was recently validated in places like Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, where ballot boxes were set on fire.

That's probably what keeps me up, is the fact that we've seen this divide

Russ Skinner,
Maricopa County Sheriff

“The days (or weeks) following the election could prove the most consequential, particularly if a clear winner has not emerged for the presidency. Such uncertainty gives conspiracy theories greater space to develop and circulate and can significantly increase political unrest or even violence within local communities,” recent analysis from the Council on Foreign Relations notes.

Unfortunately for Maricopa County, delayed results seem likely.

As of Monday, the county has already received more than 1.5 million ballots, according to local officials, and has hired more than 3,600 temporary workers to work “around the clock” in the coming days to deliver the results.

Ms Kinnerup said it is changing demographics, and not interference in the democratic process, that has played a significant role in the slowing of the tabulation process. With a decade of population influx, the state has shifted away from a solid Republican red to a much more purple, and split, populous.

“We have had people come from all over the country, bringing their diverse political opinions, which means it is not this separate state that it once was,” she said.

The state is now split evenly between “a third, a third, a third” of Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

“Even if every Republican voted red, every Democrat voted down ticket blue, we would still have those Independents,” Mr Kinnerup said.

The reality of looming election denialism and threats of violence, despite those efforts of transparency, were palpable in the government district of downtown Phoenix on Monday.

Assistant county manager Zach Schira cautioned that “we are going to prioritise safety and security over speed at all times”.

“But it's important to remember that here in Arizona, our races are extremely close, and it still might take a few days for you the media, to call those races … this is normal.”

County Sheriff Russ Skinner told reporters that local law enforcement's “posture will be stood up”, adding that it is “unfortunate that this has to be election security related, but since 2020 most of you have seen the dynamic change”.

“That's probably what keeps me up, is the fact that we've seen this divide … Hopefully 2024 will set a different precedent, and Maricopa County isn't in the spotlight, and that our nation starts looking at the need for respect to each other and respect to this process.”