Rightwing Illegal and Unlawful Act: Armed Individuals Watch Ballot Box in Mesa, AZ

Two of four ballot box watchers on TV3 

(Caught on tape: No hiding their unlawful act)

Very concerning story and not the first of its kind since the 2020 election reported on here from Mesa, AZ on “Arizona’s Family (3TV/CBS5)” with this headline:

“Tensions high after armed individuals reportedly watch ballot box in Mesa”

Multiple incidents of possible voter intimidation have been reported and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors released a statement (see below) saying they will do anything to ensure a fair election.

Sheriff’s deputies were called to an incident Friday night (October 21) at a ballot box in Mesa, and they said two individuals wearing tactical gear and were armed.

The Sheriff’s office also said the individuals were standing outside the 75 limit at the Maricopa County Juvenile Court Building and they told “Arizona’s Family (TV3)” that they weren’t breaking any laws.

On Saturday night (October 22) there was another group of four people watching the same ballot box in Mesa, and two of them were armed with concealed handguns (captured on film above).

There also was a reported confrontation that resulted from the group being there. The watchers on Saturday night ended up leaving.

Arizona’s Family spoke to an activist in a nun outfit who said she went out to the location to watch the watchers and ensure voter intimidation wasn’t happening. 

She said they were covering their license plates with pieces of cloth, and when she tried to take a picture of the license plates, she was grabbed and chased by one of the group members, saying: “I just felt fair is fair, they’re video-taping voter’s license plates, so I didn’t think it was really a big deal to photograph theirs.” She further said she felt like the group was trying to keep people away from the ballot box.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Chairman Bill Gates and recorder Stephen Richer said in their statement (also seen in the graph below):

“Uninformed vigilantes outside Maricopa County’s drop boxes are not increasing election integrity. Instead they are leading to voter intimidation complaints.”

“Although monitoring and transparency in our elections is critical, voter intimidation is unlawful.”

Both Gates and Richer said they would do anything to protect voters, election workers, and fair elections.

Official Maricopa County Statement

FYI: Maricopa County has 12 Vote Centers and 16 drop boxes inside city and town facilities. These locations are staffed by election workers, or city, and town employees. Voters also have the option to return an early ballot by mail. 

The last recommended day to drop a ballot in the  mail is November 1, before Election Day on the 8^th.

My 2 Cents: The statement from the two officials (see above) clearly states the problem as being both dangerous and illegal.

Voter intimidation has picked up since 2020, including the actual voting, during the recounting, and even during audits and recounts of the audits (e.g., Cyber Ninjas) in Maricopa country – which BTW is the largest country in AZ.

That is just step to turn off voters anyway possible and stop the steal part of Trump's “Big Lie” after he lost in 2020 – which by all accounts was the most secure and safest election ever and especially during the tough CoVID days and weeks.

As I said before and I will keep harping on that “Big Lie” movement by Trump and his sycophant deniers also running for office and that is this: This new Trump owned and operated GOP will do, say, pay, try, lie, imply, and deny anything to take control of our entire electoral process at all levels to make sure and ensure that they never lose again. It’s just that simple.

This latest stunt explained above is a perfect example of their illegal actions. 

Thanks for stopping by.