WATCH: Protesters Gather Outside Maricopa Tabulation Center, Declare Hobbs a ‘Cheat’ as Ballots Counted

Zachary LeemanNov 12th, 2022, 4:52 pm

Protesters began gathering outside a tabulation center in Maricopa County in Arizona. Former President Donald Trump has already cast doubt on the legitimacy of elections in Arizona without proof, something election officials in the state have pushed back on.

Videos and images of the few dozen protesters circulated on social media and networks like CNN on Saturday. Some demonstrators held signs declaring Democrat Katie Hobbs a “cheat” and Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake the rightful winner while ballots are still being counted.

As they chant “count the legal votes” … inside, they’re counting the legal votes.

There are about three dozen protesters here outside the Maricopa County tabulation center for a protest that started 15 minutes ago. https://t.co/5jWKWPHwqE pic.twitter.com/gwnNbMjYmr

— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) November 12, 2022

Greetings from the Maricopa County Elections Dept, where a right wing “vigil,” complete w/bullhorns & conspiracies, are taking place around the building #Election2022 pic.twitter.com/vcPa4iO44T

— Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) November 12, 2022

Lol everyone’s accusing eachother of being feds pic.twitter.com/NGyGmtGFJZ

— Tess Owen (@misstessowen) November 12, 2022

Demonstrators reportedly prayed outside the tabulation center and the crowd began thinning after only a couple hours. Vice News’ Tess Owens reported some saying they still believe Lake can win her election, but if she doesn’t, supporters will be “very angry.”

Overall, the protesters weren’t riled up enough to be receptive to the energy from some far-right agitators present . There was a degree of self-policing. But some told me that if Lake doesn’t win, people would be “very angry”

— Tess Owen (@misstessowen) November 12, 2022

The Twitter account for Maricopa County addressed concerns about the delayed process on Saturday while protesters were occurring, tweeting, “All legal votes will be counted. Your vote will count equally whether it is reported first, last, or somewhere in between. Thank you for participating.”

They then tweeted similar messages to candidates and “disinformation super spreaders.”

CANDIDATES: All legal votes will be counted, including votes for you. If you have the most votes in the final tally, you will be elected. If you do not have the most votes, you will have lost your election.

— Maricopa County (@maricopacounty) November 12, 2022

SOCIAL MEDIA BOTS: Your disapproval is duly noted but your upvotes and retweets will not be part of this year’s totals. This is not meant as an affront to your robot overlords, it’s just not allowed for in Arizona law.

— Maricopa County (@maricopacounty) November 12, 2022

Trump lost it on Arizona election officials after Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) was declared the winner in his Senate race against Republican Blake Masters.

Trump claimed the election, or “electron” and stolen and there needed to be a do over.

“This is a scam and voter fraud, no different than stuffing the ballot boxes. They stole the Electron from Blake Masters. Do Election over again!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Lake also blasted the “slow rolling results” in Arizona, a statement that earned her pushback from election officials.

“It is offensive for Kari Lake to say that these people behind me are slow rolling it when they’re working 14 to 18 hours. So I really hope this is the end of that now. We can be patient and respect the results when they come out,” Maricopa County Chairman Bill Gates said in response this week.

Watch above via CNN

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Zachary Leeman

Zachary Leeman covered pop culture and politics at outlets such as Breitbart, LifeZette, BizPac Review, HollywoodinToto, and others. He is the author of the novel Nigh. He joined Mediaite in 2022.