On Wednesday night, nearly 300 people gathered outside of a voting center in Maricopa County, Arizona to demand that poll workers stop counting votes in a presidential election. In support of President Donald Trump, the crowd intimated that the votes counted after election day were somehow illegal or fraudulent.
Wednesday's protest in Arizona was one of many that have popped up across the country. On Wednesday afternoon, protesters gathered in Detroit to demand that votes stop being counted. This morning, smaller pro Trump crowds have emerged in Philadelphia in an attempt to stop poll workers from doing their jobs.
All of these demonstrations have been stoked by the President. For months, he has publicly opposed the use of mail-in ballots in many states. This week, he has amped of his vocal condemnation of the voting process.
"Stop the count," he tweeted.
"Any vote that came in after election day will not be counted."
Many of Trump's cries will not be heard or obeyed. Prior to the election, many states had publicly informed voters that all mail-in ballots that were postmarked by November 3 were legal and would be counted. Voting by mail has become increasingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, Democrats disproportionately elected to vote by mail. Adding on, many states like Pennsylvania and Nevada elected not to begin the process of counting mail-in ballots until election day. As a result, many election day counts favored Donald Trump voters who performed their civic duty person. However, the votes that were mailed in are equally as valid, must be counted and are the reason former Vice President Joe Biden has made up ground in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia.
"Everyone should want all the votes to be counted, whether they were mailed or cast in person," Republican Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman said.
"An accurate vote takes time. This is evidence of democracy, not fraud."
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