GOP-Dominated Maricopa County Board Unanimously Certifies Election Results, Trump Predictably Complains

 

The Republican-heavy Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Monday to certify the 2022 midterm election results after a wild hearing.

Bill Gates, a former election lawyer for the Arizona GOP who now serves as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, blasted some of the allegations leveled against the county board before calling to certify the results.

“The integrity of my colleagues up here on the dais and the integrity of Stephen Richer were questioned over and over and over again,” Gates began, adding:

And I know this is not my seat. This is the people’s seat that I sit in. And one day, I won’t sit in this seat. But while I’m sitting here, I’m going to defend the integrity of these five men.

During the open hearings earlier in the day, election deniers blasted the election which saw the GOP lose the governorship, a U.S. Senate race, the attorney general race, and the secretary of state’s race. One woman spoke before the board and called for their execution.

The woman called the board’s seven members “traitors to the United States Constitution” and baselessly accused the board of “election crimes” and said that “not certifying the machines constitutes a form of ‘interference.’” She went on to say that the board’s “treason” is “punishable by the death penalty.”
Notably, the GOP did well in House races in Arizona in the midterms, where many Republicans outperformed the Trump-backed candidates running statewide and promoting allegations that the 2020 election in the state was stolen.

“You can think what you want to about me. But these are good men who are in public service for the right reasons. And I am proud to serve with every single one of them. Again, this was not a perfect election, but it was safe and secure. The votes have been counted accurately and I thank everyone for their attention today. And with that, I would entertain a motion,” Gates, one of four Republicans on the board, concluded.

“Mr. Chairman, I would make the motion that we approve the November 8th, 2022 Maricopa County General Election Canvass and I ask for a vote,” said Supervisor Steve Gallardo — the only Democrat on the board.

“All right. Thank you for that motion. Do we have a second? I’ll be happy to second the motion from Supervisor Gallardo. All right. Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? No. All in favor, please. Say I all opposed the motion passes. Thank you very much, everyone. This meeting is adjourned,” Gates said as the election results were certified.

Some in the audience could be heard yelling to “nullify” the results and shouting their disapproval of the vote to certify the results.

Former President Donald Trump was predictably quick to comment, writing on his Truth Social, “The Maricopa Supervisors are far worse than the Democrats ever were! The only question is, why?” Trump then linked to the notorious conspiracy theory website the Gateway Pundit.

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Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing