The election official that found himself at the heart of the chaos surrounding the 2022 midterm election and Republican Kari Lake's claims of election fraud and misconduct that she says led to her loss to Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs has announced that he will not be seeking reelection in 2024.
The move comes as he and several other election officials have complained of threats and harassment at the hands of Lake's supporters, who have continued to hound the election workers over Lake's claims of fraud in 2022.
Top Election Official Looks to Leave Position
Supervisor Bill Gates, who helped to oversee the election process in the state's most populous county and combat misinformation surrounding both the 2020 and 2022 elections, announced Thursday that he would not be seeking reelection to his position in the next election.
Gates, a Republican, said in a statement that he would not be looking to return to the role, saying that throughout his time in office, he "kept government lean, taxes low, supported our most vulnerable residents, and told the truth about our elections in the face of false information.”
In the statement, Gates also said that he would be pursuing "other interests and opportunities," but will finish out the rest of his term.
Gates Moving After Overseeing Two Critical Elections
In addition to the difficulties around the 2022 election, Gates also found himself at the forefront of the battle following the 2020 election that saw former President Donald Trump lose to President Joe Biden.
Trump's denial of the results of the election, as well as his subsequent challenges and claims of invalidity, led Gates to have to back his fellow election workers and has maintained that all of those that worked the 2020 and 2022 elections acted properly and without misconduct.
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