Two Republican Arizona State Senators, Michelle Ugenti-Rita and Kelly Townsend are calling on the Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer to remove two ballot drop boxes that have become the centers of controversy.
The drop boxes have prompted allegations of voter intimidation and threating behavior from partisans on both sides of the political aisle.
Tensions surrounding the controversial boxes have grown to such an extent that on Monday evening, Townsend received a threat at her Senate office. The caller stated:
Kelly, you were in the navy, you know the value and the accuracy of snipers. Keeping sending your guys out to guard the ballot boxes, your vigilantes. We’ve got snipers and we’re waiting for them and they’re dead. Why don’t you visit a ballot box? … Bang!
The caller did not leave their name.
Republicans want free and fair elections, Democrats want civil unrest and are the party of death. Vote Red in 2 weeks and save our Republic. pic.twitter.com/IOBYwuz7mA
— Kelly Townsend (@AZKellyT) October 25, 2022
“This is a legit call to guerrilla civil war and it needs to stop now. Americans want elections free from ballot stuffers like we just had in So AZ,” tweeted Townsend in a follow-up. “We can’t get proper reform ppl have turned to watching, and now are being threatened with murder by Dems. Despicable!”
Earlier on Monday, Ugenti-Rita expressed her opposition to the controversial boxes in response to reports about a couple in tactical gear used as an example by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and Bill Gates of voter intimidation.
Contrary to the implication by Richer and Gates, the couple was standing outside the 75-foot limit at the Maricopa County Juvenile Court Building and were not breaking any laws.
I tried to ban drop boxes last session. At a minimum, the county should remove the 2 outside drop box locations before someone gets hurt. Problem solved.
They’re unnecessary considering ALL the other ways available to return one’s mail-in ballot.
@maricopacounty @MaricopaVote https://t.co/DSGDW1L6Yd— Michelle Ugenti-Rita (MUR) (@MichelleUgenti) October 23, 2022
Despite the fact that the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office has sent a total of six reports of potential voter intimidation near ballot drop boxes to law enforcement, it appears to lawmakers like Ugenti-Rita that Maricopa County officials prefer stoking fear and fueling drama over ensuring public safety.
“I tried to ban drop boxes last session. At a minimum, the county should remove the two outside drop box locations before someone gets hurt. Problem solved. They’re unnecessary considering ALL the other ways available to return one’s mail-in ballot,” tweeted Ugenti-Rita.
“I support Senator Michelle Ugenti Rita’s call to remove the drop boxes,” Townsend told the Arizona Daily Independent. “They have created uncertainty and now a hazard. It is time to return confidence in our elections, and unmonitored drop boxes doesn’t get us there. In fact, they move us backward. Get rid of them.”
The Democrat attorney behind the Russiagate hoax, Marc Elias, filed suit on Tuesday on behalf of a group closely associated with the Mark Kelly campaign, Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, against Clean Elections USA, a group he claims is behind many of the drop box watchers.
