Tio Pablo met with Juan several times over the next week. Each time in private. “You’ve been named a ‘duly designated delegate,’ OK?” he’d said.
Juan didn’t really understand what that was, other than it had to do with the election process. But he wasn’t sure what his specific role would be.
“Don’t worry about it, nephew,” Pablo had reassured him. “All you need to know right now is that you can’t go out gathering tortillas for me anymore. OK? You’re an honest, upstanding new citizen of the United States now, OK? Everybody looks up to you. You are the good man who wants to be responsible and help your community. Nothing else, OK?"
“OK,” Juan repeated back to him several times. Sounds like I’m not supposed to do anything now. How is this supposed to help?
Pablo must have seen Juan’s inner conflict playing across his features, but he misinterpreted it. “Look, don't worry about the money," he purred, pulling out his fat wad of cash. "There's plenty to go around. You'll be a big man around here pretty soon, and big men get handsomely rewarded, OK?”
Juan was reluctant, but he took the cash. He didn't count it because that would be rude, but he could tell he was getting a lot of money. More than he'd ever expected. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“Don’t do anything yet. Someone will call you.”
“Hello Mr. Torres? Mr. Juan Torres?”
“Yes, this is Juan.”
The man cleared his throat, “Mr. Torres, my name is Stan Williams with the Arizona Republican Party’s Office.”
Juan furrowed his brows, “Is something wrong?”
“No, not at all,” Stan said cheerfully, “Juan? May I call you Juan?”
“Sure.”
“Great!” Stan radiated enthusiasm. “Look Juan, we really need you to come down to our headquarters today. As one of the delegates, I was led to believe you would be available to assist us with an urgent matter.”
“Uh, yes Mr. Willams,” Juan said weakly.
“Please, call me Stan.”
“Uh, OK Stan.” Juan tried to gather his thoughts. This must be the phone call Tio Pablo told me to expect. I’d better do whatever he asks. “Yes, I can come down. Where do I go?
“The AZGOP headquarters is back on Central Avenue. Have you ever been there?"
Juan said he hadn’t.
Stan gave him the street address, and they talked about landmarks because Juan didn’t use a GPS. “We’re on the third floor of the office building.”
Juan arrived about a half-hour later. As he entered the bustling headquarters, a woman who introduced herself as ‘Rita’ with Maricopa County Voter Assistance Services handed him a slice of cake and coffee in a Styrofoam cup.
"Please follow me, Mr. Torres," Rita stood to escort Juan to the meeting site when she noticed Maria standing beside him. "Oh, excuse me, Mr. Torres. Is this your …um …wife?” She guessed correctly.
“Yes,” Juan nodded. “Maria came down with me today.”
Rita gave a big, sad smile, "Oh, I hate to seem rude, Mr. Torres, but I have instructions only to bring you back into the meeting. Would you mind terribly if Maria waited outside here for a little while?”
Juan and Maria shared a concerned look, but complied with the request. Rita spent a few minutes getting Maria a piece of cake and offering her some coffee, which Maria declined.
Just before they entered the door to the meeting room, Rita stopped Juan with her hand held up. “Mr. Torres, due to the highly confidential nature of this meeting, we can't allow any pictures or recordings of any kind. May I take your cell phone while you’re inside? I’ll be sure to return it to you before you leave. Would that be all right?”
Juan didn’t feel like it was a request he could ignore. So he silently handed over his cell phone.
“Juan!” The person speaking must have been Stan Williams. Juan recognized the enthusiasm in his voice. “Thanks for coming down, buddy. I’d like to introduce you to the rest of the team.”
Besides Stan, there were ten other delegates in the room, for a total of eleven delegates, counting Juan. In addition, there were two attorneys present, but Juan didn’t catch their names.
“Due to the highly visible nature and negative press in the aftermath of the 2020 Presidential election,” one of the lawyers began explaining after introductions were over, “We’ve decided it’s best to treat this matter as highly confidential.”
Several other delegates had specific questions about the ‘slate of alternate electors’ that had submitted documents stating that Donald Trump had won Arizona in 2020. Juan remembered hearing about that, but he said nothing because he didn’t want to look ignorant in front of this group. He did manage to deduce that the gist of the conversation involved the potential for legal jeopardy for each team member assembled here.
“There is adequate legal precedent for using alternate electors," the second attorney explained. Then he cited several states that had done so in the past and offered reassurances that, despite ongoing litigation from the 2020 campaign, the concept had never been proven illegal in a court of law.
Never been proven illegal? Juan didn’t find that reassuring at all.
“Don’t worry!” Stan tried to break the growing tension in the room. “We probably won’t need to use you at all. Donald Trump is killing it in the polls right now. We just need you as backup in case they try to steal the election again. If the next election is contested and goes to litigation, we’ll call you back to sign the appropriate paperwork. Then we'll transport you together to the Capital to submit it.”
“Are we going to be ‘fake’ electors then?” one of the delegates asked.
Stan's face twitched. It was subtle, but Juan saw it. He thought some of the other people did, too.
“We don’t use that term around here,” Stan said, maintaining his veneer of boyish enthusiasm. “A formal proposal had been submitted requiring that, in the event of a contested election, the Arizona State Legislature (who is majority Republican) will select electors to represent the state’s interests. I assure you everything will be perfectly legal and above board if the time comes."
Juan knew at that moment that he’d stepped into the heart of Arizona’s political machinery. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had unwittingly become a pawn in a larger game.
What Does Juan Think Will Decide the Election?
Choose Option 1: Alternate Electors
Choose Option 2: Voter Fraud