As the midterm elections of 2022 came and went, there was minimal drama.
This was quite a relief for a nation still reeling from the fracas that occurred in 2020’s presidential race that eventually kicked off a stark and unprecedented siege of the US Capitol.
But 2022 wasn’t exactly free of controversy, with Arizona’s Maricopa County playing host to some bizarre voting issues that have now resulted in a “political protest” of sorts.
The Board of Supervisors in Mohave County, Arizona moved to delay certification of the midterm election results on Monday in protest of voting issues in Maricopa County, becoming the second county to do so.
In a split vote, board members decided to wait until the Nov. 28 deadline to certify the election results as a “political statement” of “solidarity” with those upset with the voting machine issues that plagued Maricopa County, the state’s most populous county. The move comes as Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright sent a letter Saturday to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office demanding explanations for issues with ballot-on-demand printers in at least 60 voting locations.
So, what exactly was the issue?
Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs was elected governor and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., was re-elected to a full six-year term in office in the midterm election, when nearly 2.6 million Arizonans voted. However, Hobbs’ Republican opponent, Kari Lake, has refused to concede the race, claiming her supporters were disenfranchised by the Election Day issues.
Maricopa County reported problems at about 30% of its vote centers on Nov. 8, when tabulators were unable to read some ballots.
And while Maricopa County officials have insisted that every vote was counted, concerns over compliance with local election laws have persisted, leading to the protest we see today.
