Election results for Arizona Governor had not been settled by mid-Saturday afternoon, as election officials seemed to be dragging their feet by not counting many votes, leaving tabulations unmoved for days.
“These people need to do their jobs and count the ballots,” one local woman told local media about her frustration over what she sees as a delay in the tabulation and announcement of the Arizona gubernatorial winners.
The New York Times hadn’t even updated their election site in over 24 hours and show numbers suspended and unchanged, showing Democrat Katie Hobbs with a tiny little lead over Republican Kari Lake.
“They are trying to demoralize us by leaving it like this for so many days,” one AZ poll worker told reporters about the length of time it was taking to vote all of the ballots from Tuesday’s election.
Here is what it looked like:
Local AZ news reported that election staffers in Arizona’s two most populous counties planned to work through the weekend counting remaining ballots from Tuesday’s election, with a possibly pivotal update in the governor’s race expected Saturday evening.
Many people are worried that the state election results are unfolding under a massive conflict of interest.
The conflict of interest in the state of Arizona is brazen as Democrat AZ Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, in charge of elections, is also the Democrat candidate for Governor, and Hobbs appeared to be trailing the Republican candidate for Governor, Kari Lake when the numbers put Hobbs in a tiny little lead and then mysterious voting stopped.
“While awaiting results, Hobbs has urged patience,” AZ Central reported, adding:
“As we await outstanding ballots, I remain confident in the will of (Arizona) voters and am grateful to the election officials diligently working to ensure every vote is properly counted,” Hobbs said on social media Friday evening. “To everyone closely watching our race, thanks for your patience. We look forward to the days ahead.”
“Lake has gone on a tour of national and conservative media appearances saying she was confident she would win, drafting a boost from Election Day votes. She has pledged to reform the state’s “terrible” elections that are “run poorly, they’re ripe with fraud. She did not respond to a request for comment or an interview this week from The Arizona Republic.”
Some people see a connection between Hobbs’ potential for loss and a reluctance to announce the winner, so there is a slow, chaotic and lingering counting process that has voters feeling close to panic.
It appeared that by Saturday afternoon, the areas that most heavily favor Lake were not being counted toward the total for the state, as reported by Tyler Bowyer of Turning Point USA:
CDs 1, 5, 8 and 9 will HEAVILY favor Kari. These are our people!
CD 4 will favor Kari but not as much. This does cover many good parts of Mesa.
CD 3 & 7 are the bad ones, coincidentally where a lot of votes were reported last night. https://t.co/2HOO6Sw3tS
— Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) November 12, 2022
Arizonians were confused about why the process was taking so long.
“Katie Hobbs was so busy running away from debating Kari Lake that she apparently forgot she had a job to set up a process to count ballots,” a reporter covering the election for Real America’s Voice, Ben Bergquam, said while interviewing protestors who had gathered on Saturday afternoon.
People already starting to show up at the Maricopa Election office. They’re fed up!
510 S 3rd Avenue
Phoenix, AZ pic.twitter.com/fbrb6NDTsi— Ben Bergquam – Real America’s Voice (RAV-TV) News (@BenBergquam) November 12, 2022
Reporters for Gateway Pundit, Jordan Conradson and Bergquam, had both been denied press credentials by the AZ election officials in Maricopa Co, but covered the people at the protest gathering in the area. Bergquam took time to talk to a group who were a part of a ‘Jericho Walk,’ walking around the perimeter of the counting and praying for justice.
They reported at one time; there were up to 200 people in attendance at the protest.
“This is the center of the political universe right now,” Bergquam said about Maricopa County during a live stream where he interviewed numerous poll workers who had stories about voter frustration, machine malfunctions, and ballot issues.
Even though Kari Lake promised that every ballot was being addressed, residents in Maricopa Co were worried enough to start a protest at the counting center over the length of time it was taking to declare a winner in Tuesday’s midterm election.
Arizona & America:
Rest assured that I have the brightest & best attorneys in the Nation, right here on the ground in Arizona.
Every ballot has eyes on it.
GOP Ballots (Election Day) ballots start dropping tonight.
Keep your Champagne cold, our votes are about to start.
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) November 12, 2022
People were frustrated about the ballots that were not being counted. The question about that, on the minds of the voters, seemed to be whether the inability to count ballots was evil intent or pure incompetence.
Either way- it is Katie Hobbs’ fault.
“We need one day voting, paper ballots and no machines, with smaller precincts,” one poll worker told Bergquam. “I have no faith in these people. I remember when they wouldn’t let Paul Gosar in to see what was happening. It was so disgusting,” she told him.
The count in Arizona continues. This story is still developing.
Stay tuned to National File for any updates.
