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Maricopa County fights back against disinformation with elections command center

Ahead of the 2022 November General Election, Maricopa County officials have teamed up with elections professionals to make a "central hub" for information.

PHOENIX — Editor's note: The above video is from a previously aired broadcast.

The Maricopa County Elections Department is already preparing for the tumult of the 2022 November General Election by establishing the "2022 Elections Command Center." The center aims to combat disinformation by serving as a centralized hub for election info.

The center was established by Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates, and Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, bringing together a team of elections and communications professionals to combat disinformation ahead of and after the election.

Experts were selected from the Elections Department, Recorder’s Office, County Manager’s Office, and other county agencies.

In a statement from the newly formed 2022 Elections Command Center on Tuesday, Chairman Bill Gates, District 3, said the following:

“At the beginning of the year, I promised we would run the most transparent elections this county has seen, and I’m proud of what the Board of Supervisors, the Recorder’s Office, and our elections team have done to date. The Command Center will further deliver on that promise by creating a structure that allows us to reach more people, faster, with factual information about how elections are run and how people can successfully participate.”  

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In the same statement, County Recorder Stephen Richer said:

"We ran a terrific Primary Election, but because of our ‘continuous improvement’ work ethic, we will have an incredible communications team assembled that will allow us to better respond to constituent concerns and combat misinformation during the General Election,” 

The Elections Command Center will be handling outreach and response, as well as providing updates on tabulation and reporting results on Election Day.

Early voting begins on Oct. 12.

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