PHOENIX — Maricopa County Elections officials are prioritizing security ahead of Election Day and rolled out part of their plan one week before November 5.
In addition to being in a swing state, Maricopa County is the fourth most populous county in the nation and the third largest voting district, which means more eyes than ever before are expected to be on its results.
"There has been immense planning for many, many years."
During a press conference on Tuesday, officials said they have increased their security footprint and expect to have all law enforcement agencies involved in next week's plan.
"It is concerning to see that this heightened sense of security, the questions, the national even global attention that Maricopa County has seen," Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner said. "But I want you to rest assured that there has been immense planning for many, many years relative to this operation for democracy, to make sure that this community is safe, to make sure that those locations are safe, to make sure that we get those ballots back to MCTEC safely."
Skinner said he enacted a blackout period for his essential employees to take vacation beginning next week so he will have plenty of resources and equipment. He said there will be uniformed deputies and officers in plain clothes near vote centers to ensure voters and poll workers remain safe.
In an effort to not intimidate voters, they will not be within 75 feet of a vote center unless there is a public safety issue.
"I don't see the need, necessarily, for snipers."
MCSO will utilize drones to monitor from above. He also responded to national reports of snipers being positioned next week.
"I don't typically discuss operational plans publicly until the aftermath if we need to of why they were there or what level," Skinner said. "I've got resources and equipment dialed up ready to go. At this point, I don't see the need, necessarily, for snipers."
Skinner said so far, the incidents his department has dealt with leading up to the election primarily involve threats.
"A lot of it right now has been tied to threats to people that are involved in either election process, dignitaries or elected officials," Skinner said. "We haven't had a lot of them, which is a good thing, but we did see that obviously in 2020."
One of the central focuses of the security plan is the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center. In 2020, the building was at the center of protests in the days following Election Day. Unrest outside grew as staffers inside worked to tabulate results.
Since 2020, there have been significant physical changes to the building. There are now multiple layers of fencing and barriers surrounding it. There are also metal detectors and secured entry points.
"At MCTEC, we have layers and layers and layers of checks and balances throughout that starts with our physical security and the fencing. We have permanent fencing as well as temporary fencing," Scott Jarrett, Maricopa County's Director of Elections, said. "We have invited the sheriff's office to be on site, to be there on Election Day and the days after as we're doing the counting. They will have security checks to make sure that we're only allowing authorized individuals into MCTEC."
Officials said monitoring social media is also a critical part of their security plan this year. There have already been social media users with large platforms who have raised questions about Maricopa County's tabulation process.
"We understand we are in an environment now where we have both foreign actors and people within this country that are intentionally spreading misinformation about our elections. So when people are starting to raise questions already about the 2024 election in Maricopa County, it doesn't surprise me, unfortunately, and that's why we're watching this," said Supervisor Bill Gates of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. "If we see that there's misinformation that's being spread out there that relates to the voters' experience that might either stop someone from going to vote at the polls, or creating confusion for them, we're going to respond to that."
Gates also talked about an incident last week where a person brought in a hidden camera into a county elections training. The footage was then widely shared on social media.
"That's got to stop. These are people. These are not people who have run for office like me and my colleagues. These are people who are just trying to do their part to make sure our democracy functions," Gates said. "This type of thing has to stop and it needs to be more than just me and my colleagues speaking out against it. We need other elected leaders across Arizona, really across the country, speaking out. Election workers are off limits."
Security briefing comes after week of election-related crimes
The county's security briefing comes after a busy week for law enforcement responding to election-related threats. In Tempe, a high school teacher was arrested for making threats against Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump Jr.
RELATED: School district employee arrested for threats. Tempe man accused of threatening Donald Trump Jr.
Another man was arrested for several shootings of a Democratic National Committee office and police said the amount of ammo and guns found in his home led them to believe he was planning a mass casualty event.
“We don't have any tolerance for any criminal activity," Skinner said.
Officials said they are unable to predict exactly what will happen next week which is why they are prepared.
“I think it is a sad commentary on what's happened in this country in the last four years," Gates said.
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