Arizona officials ‘deeply concerned’ by armed ‘vigilantes’ at ballot drop box

Arizona officials on Saturday sounded alarms about voter safety after two armed individuals deemed “vigilantes” dressed in tactical gear were found outside a Maricopa County ballot drop box Friday evening.

“We are deeply concerned about the safety of individuals who are exercising their constitutional right to vote and who are lawfully taking their early ballot to a drop box. Uninformed vigilantes outside Maricopa County’s drop boxes are not increasing election integrity. Instead they are leading to voter intimidation complaints,” said Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates and Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer in a joint statement.

“Although monitoring and transparency in our elections is critical, voter intimidation is unlawful. For those who want to be involved in election integrity, become a poll worker or an official observer with your political party. Don’t dress in body armor to intimidate voters as they are legally returning their ballots,” the statement continued.

The two armed individuals left the Mesa ballot drop box after Maricopa County law enforcement responded, according to the elections officials.

The incident comes after the Arizona secretary of state last week referred a case of possible voter intimidation to the Justice Department and the state’s attorney general after a voter attempting to cast their ballot in Maricopa County was reportedly “approached and followed by a group of individuals.”

Maricopa County was a focal point of election concerns during the 2020 presidential election. After former President Trump claimed the election was stolen from him, the Arizona state Senate contracted the firm Cyber Ninjas to conduct a controversial audit, which confirmed President Biden’s win in the state.

“No matter how you choose to vote in Arizona, you should feel safe doing so,” the state elections officials said in their Saturday statement.

“We will do everything possible in our roles to protect voters, election workers, and our free and fair elections,” they added.

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