After Trump claimed the 2020 Presidential election was “rigged,” a short documentary shows the effect of election conspiracies in the crucial jurisdiction of Maricopa County, Arizona, through the experience of one elected official.Film by Paul Moakley and Daniel Lombroso
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00:00Okay, again, please, no outbursts. Please proceed.
00:09And I'd just like another reminder, please, that you do work for We the People.
00:14Thank you. 84% of poll workers in Arizona have zero confidence in our election process. You
00:21guys forget you represent We the People. Arizona needs to vote and count.
00:26Again, please, please.
00:28We have nothing to stand up under the Constitution of the United States of America.
00:33And without us standing up under that, we have nothing. Nothing.
00:38Voters in Arizona head to the polls Tuesday. And in some of the key contests,
01:01leading Republican candidates have doubled down on far-right conspiracies
01:06denying the results of the 2020 election.
01:09Of course, Arizona has seen election-related protests in the past, just two years ago.
01:14It is clear in Arizona that they must decertify the election. You heard the numbers.
01:22And those responsible for wrongdoing must be held accountable. It was a corrupt election.
01:31Turn around and speak to everybody. We're going to run them out of the building.
01:35We know you're puppeteers. We know you follow your orders. And we are here to let you know
01:40that America is taking up the challenge of your attack. And we're going to double down on the
01:45ante. And you will be defeated. And you will be tried, just like the Nuremberg, like the Nazis
01:52were. The concept of truth itself is in debate here. This is, right now, a loyalty test. And
01:58the GOP is largely going along with former President Trump.
02:03The threats are against Republican Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates.
02:18It seems like a lot of voters are on edge right now. And as we hear reports of attempted voter
02:25intimidation, poll observers, poll watchers, there would be nothing that extremists and
02:31election deniers would like more than for voters to feel scared about whether they should vote.
02:37And for us, actually, from the threats perspective,
02:40unfortunately, there's still people out there spreading misinformation, just in the last week,
02:46about what some of our employees did in the 2020 election. And they're sending out videos
02:52saying that certain people violated laws, although this has been litigated over and
02:56over again. And guess what? Those employees who are called out by name on social media
03:01are getting some of the most vile threats, threatening emails, etc. So again,
03:06we're still dealing with this. I know like everyone else is. But this is a cancer.
03:12My first political memory is the 1976 presidential campaign. I spoke to my kindergarten class and I
03:21told them to all tell their parents to vote for Gerald Ford, because if they didn't,
03:24their parents were going to lose their jobs. And I would come home and watch C-SPAN.
03:32Kids dream about becoming a firefighter or an athlete. And this was always my dream,
03:37When I turned 18, I was able to register as a Republican. I've always had this interest in
03:45emerging democracies in the former Eastern Bloc. I remember Ronald Reagan standing up and saying,
03:52you know, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. That was always my dream to do that.
04:00Fight for democracy there. Then when I went to law school, I was in the Harvard Law School
04:05Republicans, the Federalist Society, and I wrote for the conservative journal there.
04:11We called it the conservative trifecta.
04:13But this is a different Republican party than the party that I joined many, many years ago.
04:20Which is more valuable to you, the President, the people, or the people?
04:27I think the president is a great person. I think that he is a great person.
04:32He is a great person. I think that he is a great person.
04:35I think he is a great person.
04:36I think that he is a great person.
04:38than the party that I joined many, many years ago.
05:12Our next speaker is Kimberly Burleson.
05:15Maricopa County Elections, this is Drew speaking, how can I help you today?
05:20You scumbag cheating Democrats.
05:22Hi, ma'am.
05:23Look, if you have a concern, I can actually talk to you and I'll be happy to help you.
05:27We're going to arrest all you people that are involved in this.
05:29You're going to be hung or shot, that's what they do for traitors, sir, for treason.
05:34I'm sorry, I do not tolerate that kind of language.
05:37If you, if you would like to talk to me in a civil way.
05:51They were filming and recording early voters calling themselves Clean Elections USA.
05:57They're recruiting people across the country to watch ballot drop boxes in an effort to
06:02detect fraud.
06:10Our whole system here has been set up to keep the American people deaf dumb and blind to
06:17how the world operates.
06:23We've all seen stuff on the news and we know that there's a lot of trouble and we're just
06:29trying to save our republic.
06:32Our founding fathers gave us this job.
06:36They told us here, here's your constitutional republic.
06:40It's yours if you can keep it.
06:43And they gave us guns and they gave us laws and we just need to make sure that we follow
06:50those because this is our country.
06:57Interesting.
07:13In my chairman's speech, I said, I want to make this the most transparent election in
07:18the history of Maricopa County.
07:21For some reason we thought it might be good to talk about elections today.
07:25Um, you know, I don't know how we landed on that.
07:28So of course we have a recorder, Stephen Richard.
07:31You cannot bring a firearm within 75 feet of 223 vote centers.
07:36It'll take us about 10 to 12 days to post those final results.
07:4013% by the end of the night, the rest of the world, the eyes of the world, the eyes of
07:44the world are on Maricopa County.
07:48Our central facility is live streamed 24 seven, only a limited number of people have badge
07:52access to it.
07:53All of the wiring is exposed wiring.
07:55So you can see that it goes directly from a tabulator, not to the outside world, but
07:59directly to the election management server.
08:02Any computer box that is in that room is put in inside another sealed box that is only
08:07opened by lock key, meaning that you couldn't just go around and stick a flash drive or
08:11anything of the like in there.
08:13And as mentioned before, at all times, there are Republicans, Democrats working this process,
08:17but also Republican and Democrat official party observers who are there at any time
08:22that tabulation is actively occurring.
08:24How bipartisan is this group alleged voter intimidation, problems with chain of custody,
08:29a specific hotline?
08:30Are you worried?
08:33I wouldn't use the word worried.
09:17People out there have been told lies about people trying to steal an election.
09:22And I think it's even more than that.
09:24You know, it's sort of a fear of change and the way this country has changed, the way
09:29this has become, frankly, a more diverse, multi-ethnic democracy.
09:37I think that troubles some people.
09:39They want things to go back the way they used to be.
09:42So, what's really important for people to know is that we have 223 vote centers across
09:51Maricopa County.
09:53So even if lines do start to develop at the vote center you're at, you have 222 other
09:58options.
09:59In these close races, I don't expect for us to know the results this evening, but we anticipate
10:04by Friday we should have about 95 to 99 percent of the ballots counted.
10:11Okay, great.
10:12No, I don't think so.
10:13For now, reporting live in Phoenix, Jamie Warren, ABC 15, Arizona.
10:20How are you feeling?
10:22Nervous as hell.
10:23Oh, well, that's good luck, right?
10:25No.
10:33So, what exactly is happening?
10:37Why are you locked out?
10:42What's going on?
10:52So, we don't know.
10:53We don't know.
11:07We did want to come out and discuss one issue.
11:09In about 20 percent of the vote centers, when people will go and they try and run the ballot
11:16through this tabulator, maybe one out of every five or so of those ballots, they're not going
11:21through.
11:22But, this is something we've prepared for.
11:25We will ask them to go here at door number three and place their ballot into this secure
11:30box.
11:31The key for everyone to understand is everyone is still getting to vote.
11:36No one is being disenfranchised.
11:38How worried are you that an hour and a half into today, you already have these real issues
11:45that could be manipulated or turned into reasons for people to once again not trust the system?
11:50Did you account for the fact that now people have to go get these ballots and bring them
11:54back here and count?
11:55Yes.
11:56If someone is alleging voter fraud, we have to have evidence.
11:58You can't just say it and make it into being.
12:01No, I would not say that this is a disaster.
12:04This is a hiccup.
12:05And we feel bad about this.
12:07We're sorry that this happened.
12:08I'm just not confident in the people who we've elected to run these elections.
12:12Yes.
12:13I mean, they're not good.
12:14They're not good at their jobs.
12:20These lines are a disgrace.
12:22We need people in handcuffs and leg irons.
12:24To the people of Arizona, stay online.
12:29Don't leave.
12:30It's very, very unfair what's going on.
12:32And who is this guy Bill Gates, this Mr. Rogers guy that walks in front of the microphone
12:36and there's no precision to what he's talking about?
12:38Two years later, we've got the same issues.
13:02His first rally as a presidential candidate was held over here at the Phoenix Convention
13:23Center.
13:24I was shocked to see offensive personal attacks on the media, particularly female reporter.
13:34This seemed to be a thing with him.
13:38But he was very effective in getting judges who I share a lot of, you know, ideological
13:47perspective or, sorry, I would say judicial, you know, views of judicial restraint.
13:52So I was very pleased to see that.
13:54And I did, yes, I voted for him in 2016.
14:03But in 2020, I was convinced that the election had been run safe and secure.
14:08And it was my duty to vote to certify that election.
14:15Bill, it's Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's lawyer.
14:18I have a few things I'd like to talk over with you.
14:20Maybe we can get this thing fixed up.
14:22You know, I really think it's a shame that Republicans sort of were both in this kind
14:26of situation.
14:28Machine counts confirmed it.
14:31Hand counts confirmed it.
14:33The court system reconfirmed it.
14:36I don't think these elected officials, any one of them, truly believed in this.
14:44They were going to literally give the president of the Senate the authority to throw us in
14:48jail because we weren't moving fast enough.
14:52Having our daughter call from college frantically and saying, Dad, are you going to jail?
14:58What is this that I'm hearing?
15:07They needed 16 votes to pass this.
15:10So that night, the 16th vote called me.
15:14Thank you, Madam President.
15:15Permission to explain my vote.
15:16Please do.
15:17Please do.
15:18My vote today is about prayerful patience.
15:22It's about resolving disagreements civilly.
15:24And these are things that I believe all of the senators can agree upon, regardless of
15:29our respective votes today.
15:3115 colleagues all voted to throw us in jail.
15:34And he stood up and said, no, I'm not going to.
15:37I mean, I'm like, we're in, you know, we're in Arizona here.
15:41And I can't believe this is happening to that this horrible thing would happen.
15:45But then also to see this courage and I mean, like, what are the odds that all this would
15:50sort of coalesce?
15:56Bill Gates, the chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, had to go to an
16:00undisclosed location in connection with death threats levied against Gates for the
16:05handling of this month's midterm election.
16:11Hush.
16:18I love you.
16:19I love you, too.
16:37I'm just, I'm an incredibly lucky guy.
16:46But this I can't do in front of on camera on your camera.
17:02I can do it on your camera only.
17:06But I can't do it on anyone else's.
17:08So sometimes, you know, I release a little bit of frustration or a little bit of emotion
17:13when I can.
17:15I certainly did last night.
17:18I have friends who know me.
17:20I'm very disappointed in what they're doing right now, the way that they're attack.
17:25I can handle it.
17:26But they're attacking this process and they know better.
17:29And I'm struggling with that.
17:31But that's all right.
17:43We're sick and tired of fake politicians.
17:46We want our country back now.
17:49How's it going down there?
17:51It's full.
17:52It's full.
17:53OK.
17:56I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for
18:03which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
18:14Everybody.
18:17Shame to hell to Maricopa County for dragging our fine Arizona straight to the toilet.
18:28Thank you very much.
18:30Next speaker is.
18:31You stand up under the Constitution of the United States of America.
18:36And without us standing up under that, we have nothing.
18:39Nothing.
18:40I had people coming out panic stricken because they were freaking out that their ballot was
18:45not accepted.
18:46They were told to throw it into the famous, infamous box number three.
18:50Those who make your peaceful revolution impossible make a violent revolution necessary.
18:57Let them be as snails that dissolve into slime.
19:01And as those who die at birth, who never see the sun, God will sweep away both old and
19:08young.
19:09The godly shall rejoice in the triumph of the right.
19:13They shall walk in the bloodstained fields of slaughtered, wicked men.
19:18Then at last, everyone will know that good is rewarded and that there is a God who judges
19:26justly here on earth.
19:31All right.
19:32So that now completes public comment.
19:34To those of you who are leaving right now, thank you so much for your time.
19:38Thank you for coming down on a Monday to testify.
19:42We appreciate it.
19:43There's one thing I want to comment on.
19:45The integrity of my colleagues up here on the dais and the integrity of Stephen Richer
19:50were questioned over and over and over again.
19:54And I know this is not my seat.
19:57This is the people's seat that I sit in.
20:00This was not a perfect election.
20:02But it was safe and secure.
20:04The votes have been counted accurately.
20:08And I thank everyone for their attention today.
20:10And with that, I would entertain a motion.
20:12Political hack jobs.
20:14Let them be on the record.
20:16You guys are horrible.
20:17I apologize.
20:18I apologize for those who are watching at home.
20:19We apologize for you and your dishonesty and your lies.
20:22Lies.
20:23Lies.
20:24Lies.
20:25You and your alternative reality.
20:27All in favor, please say aye.
20:29Aye.
20:30Aye.
20:31All opposed?
20:32The motion passes.
20:33Thank you very much, everyone.
20:34This meeting is adjourned.
20:41He said, I'm scum and deserve to be tried for treason.
20:44Every single one of you scumbags.
20:46Bill Gates, you're the biggest piece of shit in Arizona.
20:49FK you all.
20:55That's lovely.
20:59That's lovely.
21:29That's lovely.
21:59That's lovely.
22:01That's lovely.