Photographs of staff working late inside Maricopa County’s election tabulation centre have prompted questions on social media, with a county supervisor saying the employees were carrying out authorised software work rather than anything improper.
The images, published by the Maricopa County Elections Department, show people inside the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Centre (MCTEC) at about 10.40pm on Wednesday, October 7.
Mark Stewart, a supervisor for Maricopa County, said he contacted the county manager after the photographs began circulating. He was told the people pictured were Elections Department employees who had followed the centre’s security procedures, including a requirement for two staff members to enter together.
According to Mr Stewart, one of the employees was updating software connected to election operations ahead of a long weekend. Testing was due to take place this week, he said, and the work was completed in advance so the system would be ready.
The presence of a USB drive in one of the photographs also fuelled speculation online. Mr Stewart said the tabulators in the room were “air-gapped”, meaning they were not connected to the internet, and that a removable drive was therefore needed to install the software update.
“When things like this pop up, people want answers, and it’s my job to go get those answers,” Mr Stewart said.
In a statement, the Maricopa County Elections Department said the photographs had been sent to it by people questioning why the employees were present at the centre.
“These photos may be used on social media to imply wrongdoing. This is not the case,” the department said.
Mr Stewart acknowledged that the images had created damaging appearances at a time when Maricopa County’s election procedures were under close scrutiny.
“Obviously, optics on this are horrendous,” he said. “The microscope is on Maricopa County for perfect elections.”
He said his office would continue examining the circumstances, while the county’s elections director had invited representatives of all political parties to observe the process.
“It comes down to transparency,” Mr Stewart said, arguing that the county should provide the public with as much information and access to its election procedures as possible.
His office is due to hold a virtual town hall on Wednesday, October 21, at 6pm, where members of the public can ask questions about elections and the county’s preparations. ([maricopa.gov](https://www.maricopa.gov/225/District-1?utm_source=openai))
