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County Elections establishes ‘Command Center’

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PHOENIX — Maricopa County elected and appointed officials — especially those charged with overseeing elections — have poured many resources into fighting disinformation and promoting transparency.

Last week, the county’s Board of Supervisors issued a news release touting formation of the “Maricopa County Forms Elections Command Center.” It’s an online portal meant to serve as a central hub of information in the weeks leading up to and following the Nov. 8 general election.

The command center can be found at elections.maricopa.gov.
District 3 Supervisor and Board Chair Bill Gates and Recorder Stephen Richer announced the 2022 Elections Command Center in the release.

“At the beginning of the year, I promised we would run the most transparent elections this county has seen, and I’m proud of what the Board of Supervisors, the Recorder’s Office, and our elections team have done to date,” Gates said. “The command center will further deliver on that promise by creating a structure that allows us to reach more people, faster, with factual information about how elections are run and how people can successfully participate.”

County Recorder Stephen Richer, repeating some of the sentiment he voiced shortly after the Aug. 2 primary election.

“We ran a terrific primary, but because of our ‘continuous improvement’ work ethic, we will have an incredible communications team assembled that will allow us to better respond to constituent concerns and combat misinformation during the general election,” Richer said. “I look forward to partnering with the Board of Supervisors to make this a great election for Maricopa County voters.”

The release said the command center will bring together communicators and subject matter experts from the Elections Department, Recorder’s Office, County Manager’s Office, and other county agencies for the following purposes:

• Clear, consistent communication about voting deadlines and election processes to Maricopa County’s more than 2.4 million eligible voters, which enables them to cast their ballot in the way they choose.

• Outreach and response to local, national and international media covering Arizona elections

• Quick and accurate response to misinformation, disinformation, and what county officials called “mal-information” about to the administration of elections in Maricopa County

• Updates on tabulation and reporting of results following Election Day

The command center will host regular news conferences in October and November for credentialed media. News conferences will be streamed live via social media for the public.

For what the county says is “reliable” information about Maricopa County election administration, visit elections.maricopa.gov. Follow Maricopa County, Maricopa County Elections Department, and Maricopa County Recorder’s Office on social media, especially Twitter.

The county also touted its voter dashboard, BeBallotReady, as a way voters can track the ballot process, from printing to mailing to counting.

Arizona’s voter registration deadline for the November election is Tuesday, Oct. 11. The state’s voter registration tracking site is www.arizona.vote.