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☆ As threats grow, funds for election security see a squeeze
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-21 | by ( Bob Ortega | Anna-Maja Rappard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

That’s why Maricopa County has spent over $864,000 in federal funds and more than $3 million in county funds to bolster its election security and processes over the past four years. Officials readily shared their worries with CNN, citing death threats, harassment, baseless lawsuits, onerous public-records requests and various security threats spurred by false claims about voter fraud. Amid these challenges, budgets for election security have been squeezed in several ways. Thousands of election workers across the country have reported receiving harassing, offensive or hostile communications, including since the 2022 midterms, according to the Department of Justice’s Election Threats Task Force. As recently as Tuesday, Trump threatened to prosecute and imprison election officials if he wins in November, as he cast doubt on the integrity of the upcoming election.

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On Tuesday, lawyers for Ms. Lake indicated she would not dispute the facts of a defamation lawsuit that Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County recorder, had filed against her. But they seem to be more durable and pervasive in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, riling up residents long after campaigns have closed up shop. Credit... Rebecca Noble for The New York TimesThe numbers back up Arizona’s outsize role in election fraud claims. At a news conference on Monday, Gary M. Restaino, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, said seven of the nation’s roughly 18 federal cases regarding election threats involved people targeting Arizona election officials, though the suspects are not Arizonans. Image Bill Gates, a Maricopa County supervisor, during Arizona’s primary presidential election in Phoenix earlier in March.

Persons: Joseph R, Biden, Donald J, Kari Lake, Trump, baselessly, hasn’t, Lake, Stephen Richer, Richer, —, ”, Joshua Garland, Rebecca Noble, Gary M, “, Mr, Restaino, Lake’s, ” Mr, they’re, Katie Hobbs, Bill Gates, Gates, Lake —, ‘, ’ ‘, ’ ”, “ It’s Organizations: Republican, Arizona State University, “, The New York Times, Arizona, U.S, Supreme, Lake’s Democratic, Mr, Republicans Locations: Arizona, Maricopa, Maricopa County, Phoenix, Georgia, U.S, . Credit, Gitmo

☆ Opinion: Swatting by Trump’s followers is putting public officials in danger. It has to stop
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Adam Kinzinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“I will tell you that the last thing you want is to see multiple law enforcement officials with guns drawn pointing at my parents and thinking that something happened,” the former South Carolina governor told NBC. It’s been in the headlines recently because of a spate of incidents involving public officials. When prominent public officials are victims of swatting, one can’t always prove a cause-and-effect relationship between inflammatory rhetoric posted online or delivered during a speech and a caller’s reckless false emergency call to 911. We need tougher laws to protect public servants, and some states are increasing penalties for perpetrators of swatting. Swatting increases the likeliness of inadvertent harm to the public by the very people whose job it is to protect us.

Persons: Adam Kinzinger, Kinzinger, Tina ”, Tina ’, Nikki Haley, Haley, swatting, Andrew Finch, Finch, ”, It’s, GOP Florida Sen, Rick Scott, Scott, Anthony Gonzalez, Donald Trump ., Trump, Judge Arthur Engoron, “ TRUMP, Engoron, Jack Smith, Tanya Chutkan, Shenna Bellows, Joe Biden, David, Brennan, I’m, I’d, General Merrick Garland, Katherine Schweit, Nikki Haley’s Organizations: CNN, Republican, House Foreign Affairs, Air National Guard, Adam Kinzinger CNN, Police, Congress, Press, South, NBC, FBI, GOP Florida, swatting, Rep, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Washington Post, New, Trump, Maricopa County Board, Brennan Center for Justice, University of Chicago, Justice Department, The Washington Post, Post Locations: Illinois, Washington, DC, South Carolina, Wichita , Kansas, Anthony Gonzalez of, Ohio, Virginia, toning, New York, Trump, Maine, Arizona, Maricopa, Nevada, The

☆ An Arizona GOP official relentlessly threatened by election deniers after the 2020 presidential race says he has PTSD
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates now has PTSD after relentless attacks during the 2020 election. Election deniers upset about the 2020 presidential results harassed Gates, per The Washington Post. Gates, a longtime Republican, became withdrawn and angry as a result of the campaign against him and his family. A longtime Republican, Gates said he backed former President Donald Trump in the 2016 election and was an elected official in what was a longtime redoubt of the GOP. And after now-President Joe Biden won both Maricopa County and Arizona in November 2020, Trump-aligned Republicans sought to stop the certification of Biden's victory.

CNN —Defeated Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has filed suit in Arizona Superior Court challenging the certification of the state’s election. “Accordingly, Lake is entitled to an order setting aside the election in its entirety and ordering a new election,” Lake’s attorneys write in the suit. All four GOP nominees that were at the top of the Arizona ticket had echoed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. Arizona was a key 2022 battleground for governor and Senate, and likely will be again for president in 2024. Lake has repeatedly said she would not have certified Joe Biden’s win in Arizona in 2020.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs sued a Republican-controlled county Monday after it refused to certify its election results by the state's statutory deadline. The lawsuit, filed in Arizona Superior Court, aims to compel the Cochise County Board of Supervisors to certify the county's results from the Nov. 8 election. Officials in Cochise, one of 15 counties in the state, voted earlier in the day against certifying its election results. Under state law, Arizona is supposed to certify its results by Dec. 8 — with or without certification from all of the counties. Cochise County is the only county in the state that refused to certify its results.

☆ Maricopa County elections official moved to 'undisclosed location' for his safety following social media threat
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A top elections official in Maricopa County, Arizona, has been moved to an undisclosed location for his safety following threats on social media related the midterm elections, the county confirmed to NBC News on Monday. The official, Bill Gates, the chairman of the Maricopa County board of supervisors, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Election workers like Gates have experienced a rise in threats following the 2020 election and former President Donald Trump’s election lies. No one has been disenfranchised,” Gates told reporters in downtown Phoenix on Election Day, following reports of equipment problems. “We have hiccups,” Gates told NBC News at the time.

☆ Faucets poised to run dry for hundreds of Arizona residents by year's end
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Deon J. Hampton | Deon J. Hampton Is A National Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Scottsdale residents also were urged to reduce their usage as a first step toward more stringent restrictions. Some Rio Verde Foothills residents said they don't know how such an important issue could have dragged on so long without a resolution. Rio Verde Foothills resident Jennifer Simpson. Rio Verde Foothills. “I’m sure that if there’s no access to water, we’d be up in arms.”Many Rio Verde Foothills residents say they feel abandoned.

Control of the Senate - and the shape of President Joe Biden's next two years in office - will now hinge on contests in Nevada and Georgia. Democrats needed one more seat for control, since Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote. Political analysts anticipate a rush of campaign funds into Georgia as Republicans and Democrats gear up for the final battle of the 2022 midterm elections. In the fight for control of the House of Representatives, Republicans were inching closer to becoming the majority and ending four years of rule by Democrats. The Republican House leader, Kevin McCarthy, has already announced his intention to run for speaker if Republicans take over, an outcome he has described as inevitable.

Either Democrats or Republicans can capture a Senate majority by sweeping contests in both states. In the fight for the House of Representatives, Republicans were inching closer to wresting control of the chamber from Biden's Democrats. House control would give Republicans veto power over Biden's legislative agenda and allow them to launch potentially damaging investigations into his administration. The Republican House leader, Kevin McCarthy, has already announced his intention to run for speaker if Republicans take over, an outcome he has described as inevitable. Even a narrow Republican House majority would be able to demand concessions in exchange for votes on key issue such as raising the nation's borrowing limit.

[1/11] The sun rises over the U.S. Capitol, as control of Congress remained unclear following the 2022 U.S. midterm elections in Washington, U.S., November 9, 2022. "Women in America made their voices heard, man," President Joe Biden said at a political event in Washington. At the political event, Biden noted that many so-called "election deniers" had accepted their own losses. A White House official said Biden spoke by phone with Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, who announced on Wednesday his intention to run for speaker of the House if Republicans control the chamber. Republicans are expected to demand spending cuts in exchange for raising the nation's borrowing limit next year, a showdown that could spook financial markets.

☆ Midterm elections live updates: Pennsylvania races, New Hampshire Senate race too early to call
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Brandy Zadrozny | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +109 min

Share this -Link copiedWisconsin Senate and governor's races too early to call It is too early to call the Senate and gubernatorial races in Wisconsin, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedNew Hampshire Senate race too early to call The Senate race in New Hampshire is too early to call, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedPennsylvania Senate and governor races are too early to call After polls closed at 8 p.m. While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. According to the poll, 46% of voters said their family’s financial situation is worse than it was two years ago. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a "hiccup," it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. An adjucation board reviews ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center on Tuesday in Phoenix. John Moore / Getty ImagesIn 2020, Joe Biden won Maricopa County by about 6,000 of the more than 2 million votes cast there. When Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema won her seat in 2018, she did so with 50% of the statewide vote, including the 51% she took in Maricopa County. Maricopa County election officials responded that the tweet was inaccurate and "all voters are being served."

By the end of Election Day, approximately 21,000 total interviews will be conducted. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said. Share this -Link copiedSunny weather in most battleground states on Election Day It’s a bright and sunny Election Day in many battleground states!

How the midterm election outcome could impact Biden's agenda Nov. 8, 2022 02:02 Read the full story here. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said. Share this -Link copiedSunny weather in most battleground states on Election Day It’s a bright and sunny Election Day in many battleground states!

In the aftermath of the 2020 election, local election officials became frequent targets of supporters of former President Donald Trump who supported his false claims of election fraud. Election officials also said that the courts could inject chaos into the process if results are contested for weeks following the vote. Droves of election workers throughout Georgia quit their positions following the 2020 election. And in Pennsylvania, nearly 50 top election officials have left their post within the past two years. “Election workers and election officials leave or stop coming in, more errors can occur as a result, which in turn can fuel disinformation,” he said.

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