Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates on Friday rebuked allegations of misconduct by Arizona Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters, the Republican National Committee and the Arizona State Republican Party.
«The suggestion by the NCR that there is something ‘nasty’ going on here in Maricopa County is absolutely false and, again, offensive to these good poll workers,» Gates said in an interview with CNN.
After Democratic Senator Mark Kelly beat the Republican candidate in the Arizona Senate race, the NCR and the Republican Party have issued a statement criticizing the election process in Maricopa County, demanding 24-hour «ballot processing shifts».
This statement comes after dozens of machines that certify ballots began to fail on Tuesday’s midterm election day, delaying the final results until Friday.
In view of this, Gates, a member of the Republican party, has claimed to his fellow party members that if they have concerns, they should not communicate them in public.
«I am a Republican. Three of my colleagues on the board are Republicans. Let’s raise these issues and discuss them with each other, instead of making these unsubstantiated claims,» he said, according to the network.
«Let the count continue and in the end, if they have problems and choose to take the matter to court, they have every right to do so, but let the process play out,» Gates added.
Still, in response to accusations that the vote count is «taking too long,» Gates maintained that Maricopa County’s pace «is in line with previous years.»
