Arizona and Pennsylvania’s top election officials announced on Sunday (October 27) that they will ensure the safety of the elections in these two pivotal battleground states in the United States.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt made this commitment in an interview on the CBS program “Face the Nation” on Sunday, emphasizing their commitment to ensuring the safety of ballots and election workers.
Both Arizona and Pennsylvania are crucial swing states, making the election outcomes in these states extremely significant in this year’s presidential race.
Fontes, a Democrat, and Schmidt, a Republican, shared a common goal when it comes to the integrity of the elections, despite their party affiliations.
Schmidt affirmed that Pennsylvania is “not vulnerable to widespread voter fraud or similar events,” and as Election Day approaches, officials are stepping up security measures to address potential threats.
Unlike the circumstances of the 2020 election, Schmidt noted, “we now have clear lines of communication. Everyone is very clear on what their responsibilities are, so we are prepared.”
Schmidt pledged to certify the election results even if the winner is from the opposing party, and Fontes also made a similar commitment.
Fontes highlighted the new security measures implemented in Arizona surrounding the collection of election result statistics, which marks a departure from the practices of recent years.
“This is completely different from 2020.” Fontes remarked, adding, “We are dealing with a completely different set of circumstances, but we are prepared, and we will have a secure election.”
“Our current situation is that we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure not only the security of the vote, but also the safety of all of our staff, or rather the workers at polling stations and data centers,” Fontes stated. “Of course, the safety and security of voters are our primary consideration.”
Prior to the interviews with the two Secretaries of State on CBS, last week, Pennsylvania discovered a large-scale election fraud scheme, where approximately 60% of about 2500 voter registration applications submitted to the Lancaster County election office in recent days were found to involve fraudulent activities. This discovery raised concerns as the upcoming elections draw nearer.