Maricopa County Official Says Threats Are Part of Life: 'It Shouldn't Be'

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors chair Bill Gates told reporters in a briefing that threats to election officials have become "a part of life for me and my colleagues" while providing updates on Arizona's ballot count.

Gates, alongside county recorder Stephen Richer, answered questions on Thursday regarding increased security at the tabulation and election center and said that threats to the center and its employees have been consistent since the 2020 presidential election.

"That is now a part of life for me and my colleagues," Gates said. "And it shouldn't be. It shouldn't be for all the election workers and election officials across the county, but that's now a way of life. And more people need to start speaking out and saying that is absolutely unacceptable."

Gates added that he had a message for people who were continuing to threaten election officials.

"I would have them just stop for a second and think about my grandpa," he said. "My grandpa was a World War II veteran who was in Europe... and he helped to defeat the Germans. I want them to think about that, what he was over there fighting for.

"He was not fighting for their right to pick up a phone or type in a text threatening someone's life," Gates continued. "He was fighting for the right of each and every one of us to vote and select our own leaders. So my grandpa would not be cool with that, and to me that says it all."

Several tabulation machines in Maricopa County had experienced issues during Tuesday's election, which led to Arizona Republicans calling for election reform. County officials have also denied several claims that the center had committed voter fraud in 2020, a claim that was promoted by former President Donald Trump.

Election officials said that over 1.1 million ballots have been counted so far, but final numbers are expected to take until early next week. The next round of ballots, which include between 60,000 and 80,000 tickets, are expected to be released around 10 p.m. EST, reported Jonathan Cooper, a politics reporter for the Associated Press (AP) based in Phoenix.

The first report of mail-in ballots that were hand delivered to polling sites on Tuesday is now expected to drop Friday, election officials said, which in total include nearly 290,000 ballots. Vaughn Hillyard, a correspondent for NBC News, wrote on Twitter that the new round of mail-in "ballots we believe will indicate the trend of these races in Arizona."

Arizona's Senate and governor races have been some of the most closely watched in the country this midterm season. Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who is running against Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, has become a leader for right-wing politicians during her campaign, and has even been considered as a possible 2024 vice presidential candidate.

With 71 percent of the votes in Thursday, The New York Times reported that Lake was narrowly trailing Hobbs 49.58 percent to 50.42 percent.

Senate GOP nominee Blake Masters, whose running against Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly, is trailing his opponent 46.3 percent to 51.5 percent, reported the Times.

Newsweek reached out to Gates for comment on his message to election deniers.

Update 11/10/22, 8:18 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and background.