Maricopa County election officials have certified the results of the local midterms. Despite allegations, accusations, and testimonies from voters, poll workers, and Republican politicians about what happened during Election Day, those in charge of the states elections and voting, voted unanimously to validate the published data.
The decision was made after four tense hours in which several citizens took the floor to harshly criticize the organization and conduct of the voting on November 8. There were experiences of people who could not exercise their right, of workers who claimed they were not trained to do their job properly, insults and accusations of fraud. Some people were forced to leave the room as tempers flared.
"Certifying their own corruption"
One reporter's intervention was especially celebrated, and even Kari Lake shared it on her social media for being "the BEST explanation of the Maricopa County Election Day disaster you'll ever see." During his speech, Ben Bergquam of Real America's Voice TV denounced that the "only party that would benefit" with the certification of the results is "the cartels." The reporter went so far as to ask the officers, "do you think we are stupid or are you just arrogant?", ending with an applauded "if you certify today, the only thing you'll be certifying is your own corruption."
🚨 STOP what you are doing and WATCH this. This is the BEST explanation of Maricopa County Election-Day Disaster you will ever watch. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/2Df0Lx3Aym
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) November 28, 2022
"Safe, secure and Accurate" Elections
Those responsible for the election day defended themselves and stressed that the elections "were safe, secure and accurate." As Usa Today, county Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates, "this wasn't a perfect election, there were issues. But we were transparent about that."
Today, the Board of Supervisors fulfilled our statutory obligation by approving Maricopa County’s 2022 General Election results. Opinions may vary, but facts and numbers do not lie. The fact is Maricopa County’s election was transparent, safe, and accurate. #democracywins pic.twitter.com/Fbl5kGa50j
— Supervisor Steve Gallardo (@Steve_Gallardo) November 28, 2022
Less restrained was County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, a Democrat, who accused Kari Lake of wanting to hide the truth from her supporters and dump it on them. "She wants to tell one side of the story. Shame on her."
Maricopa Superv’s done w/Kari Lake. This is 🔥: “You look at the twitter feed of Kari Lake, they put up 28 posts of people yelling at us. But once the public comment was done, that was it. That’s all they want supporters to know. They don’t want to let the voters know the truth.” pic.twitter.com/EE1NO2BdH3
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) November 28, 2022
