Vote Count Stopped
“Are you going to watch the election?” Maria asked. She was cleaning up the evening dishes. “I want to see who won before I go to work.”
“Is that tonight?” The television was playing some telenovela that Maria liked to watch. Juan had been scrolling on his cell phone, ignoring it.
“Ay guau!” Maria’s expression of surprise was meant to tease. “All this talk about your first election, and you don’t even know what day it is?”
Juan laughed and aimed the remote at the TV, changing the channel to Univision.
It was fascinating to watch… for a while. The Univision studio had been transformed into an “Election Headquarters” complete with large screens and maps displaying the incoming election results. The anchors talked incessantly about exit polls and early results, but as the hours passed, they could only conclude that the race was still too close to call.
“I’ve got to go.” Maria placed some leftovers in her lunchpail. “If they get done before you go to bed, text me and let me know who won, OK?”
Juan promised, kissed her, and walked her to the door. Before returning to his chair, he went to the refrigerator and got a Coors Light.
Juan was intrigued by the expert analysis offered by pollsters and representatives from both parties. As the night wore on, they started calling the states in the Eastern time zone. Indiana and Kentucky both came in for Trump, followed by Vermont with a resounding win for Biden.
A little while later, an extremely tight race in Virginia was called for Trump. The anchors were going wild speculating on the significance of that development.
Juan looked at his watch. It was still relatively early in the evening in Arizona. But the polls were scheduled to close in a couple of hours. It was a special night, so he thought he’d treat himself to another beer before heading to bed. I’ll find out who won tomorrow.
They announced that South Carolina was being called for Trump when the broadcast was interrupted.
“Good evening, I’m Juan Rodriguez. Breaking tonight: allegations of election fraud in Maricopa County, Arizona, have surfaced, causing a stir on social media.”
What’s this? Juan thought. Arizona’s in the news?
The broadcaster continued with dramatic urgency, “A poll watcher, Sarah O’Neill, claims to have witnessed irregularities at a voting center during the recent election. According to an Instagram post, she reported discrepancies in ballot counts, citing an extra 200 ballots and drop boxes allegedly containing sealed ballots before they were placed.”
“Madre de Dios!” Juan shouted at the TV. “Not again!”
There was a rapid back-and-forth exchange in Spanish so fast that Juan could barely follow it. “However, county officials have swiftly debunked these claims, stating that O’Neill did not contact the authorities she claimed to have informed and could not have observed the data she referenced.”
Maybe it was the extra beer, but Juan felt a little like he was at a ball game criticizing the umpire for a bad call, “Aw, c’mon! Why can’t you guys just vote and keep it clean? You’re gonna make Arizona the laughingstock!”
They cut to a live shot at a different location. “The Communications Director of the Maricopa County Board of Elections has clarified that poll watchers lack access to voter check-in data, making it impossible for O’Neill to report accurate numbers. The Arizona Republican Party also refuted O’Neill’s assertions, denying any report of extra ballots.”
Once again, Juan thought about what Tio Pablo had told him about Arizona’s elections, “Votes don’t make Presidents,” he’d said. “I do.”
“Despite the social media uproar, officials from multiple agencies affirm that there is no evidence of fraudulent ballot counts or insecure drop boxes in Maricopa County.” A lady reporter back in the newsroom was saying smugly. “This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of fact-checking and verifying information before spreading claims of election irregularities.”