Arizona becomes ground zero for 2024 election misinformation fears

Election officials work on mail ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Serkan Gurbuz, Associated Press)

The Hill
Law enforcement officials are taking steps to put up guardrails ahead of the 2024 elections, where long-festering misinformation from 2020 is expected to heighten tensions — especially in the battleground state of Arizona.  

Election workers and public officials in Arizona have been plagued by incessant threats and harassment, while candidates with a penchant for conspiracy theories have made the state a hotbed of misinformation. 

U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino, Arizona’s top federal prosecutor, said Monday that threats against election officials in the swing state make up more than one-third of all cases tied to federal election threats nationwide — and an even greater number of threats aren’t prosecuted. 

With a rematch between former President Trump and President Biden all but inevitable, election officials and experts warn that the 2024 elections could brew a similarly perfect storm. 

“We don’t really want to be a leader in this space,” Restaino said at a press conference. “But we are, and we’re out there engaging.” 

The 2020 presidential race in Arizona was one of the nation’s tightest, with Biden prevailing against Trump by just more than 10,000 votes. The slim margin spurred an onslaught of misinformation amplified by Trump and other prominent Republicans.  

Arizona was one of seven states where slates of “alternate electors” convened and claimed without basis that they were “duly elected” electors. The hope was that then-Vice President Mike Pence would recognize those Trump-supporting electors instead of the true electoral votes cast for Biden.  MORE