A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
We're off to Arizona this week for our series on presidential swing states called We, The Voters. It's a state where election officials are getting a lot of violent threats. We're going to hear some of them, including an antisemitic slur, in this next conversation. All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang and her team have been reporting from Arizona, and I caught up with her for a preview.
AILSA CHANG, BYLINE: Hello. This is amazing, A, because I never get to talk to you. Our sleep schedules are completely opposite.
MART脥NEZ: Yeah. I'm the ghost of NPR West. You get to be in the sunlight, so there you go. Yeah. So - OK, so you've been reporting on all kinds of stories in Arizona - Latino voters and how they're changing their views on abortion, a Spanish-language radio network that's fighting disinformation and also how the biggest voting jurisdiction there, Maricopa County, is handling election security - a lot of stuff.
CHANG: Yeah. And, you know, we wanted to focus on Maricopa County because it's probably the second-largest voting jurisdiction in the entire country. Like, the 2 1/2 million voters in that county helped deliver the entire state of Arizona to President Biden back in 2020, which is when Arizona became a true battleground state.
MART脥NEZ: Yeah. I remember so much controversy over how the voting went down...
CHANG: Yes.
MART脥NEZ: ...In Maricopa County. Yeah.
CHANG: Oh, totally. I mean, Biden won Arizona by a razor-thin margin - just by over 10,000 votes. And really soon after that, there were all these allegations in Maricopa County about voter fraud, conspiracy theories. There was so much litigation, and there were so many investigations. But in the end, there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
MART脥NEZ: Yeah, which makes being an election official in Maricopa County probably the most stressful job in America.
CHANG: Oh, yeah. I mean, that is exactly what we heard from Stephen Richer. He's the recorder of Maricopa County. That means he's in charge of voter registration and early voting, which accounts for, like, the vast majority of voting in that county. And he told me while he's been in this recorder job, people have threatened his safety, his family, his life. Let's take a listen.
STEPHEN RICHER: In person, you have people who come up, and, you know, they jostle you. They push you. They bang on your windshield. And so many emails, social media messages - the garden-variety is you're a traitor, and you're going to hang in GTMO.
CHANG: I mean, didn't one state party official talk about you getting lynched, or you should be getting lynched...
RICHER: Yeah, and then...
CHANG: ...In a video?
RICHER: I mean, at that point, because that was in 2024, I was sort of numb to it. But what was sad about that one was that when she said that, people were cheering. That's not heartwarming, as somebody who would prefer to not be lynched.
CHANG: I read that you got voicemails on your cellphone telling you to run and hide.
RICHER: Run and hide. You're not going to make it to your next meeting. We're going to go after your kids. Your kids aren't off-limit. A guy in Texas who's now in jail - I want to put that Jew in the oven so badly that I can taste it.
CHANG: Wow.
RICHER: Yeah. Yeah.
CHANG: How does that feel? I have never been the target...
RICHER: I mean...
CHANG: ...Of threats like that.
RICHER: ...You know, when those calls were made, they would be made during some pretty emotional times, and so it's harrowing.
MART脥NEZ: So, wow, Ailsa, hearing Stephen Richer there talk about what he's going through makes me very grateful that people like him are willing to do that job.
CHANG: Oh, totally. Absolutely.
MART脥NEZ: Can't wait to hear the whole story later today on All Things Considered. That is our colleague, the great Ailsa Chang, who's been reporting with her team in Arizona. Ailsa, thanks.
CHANG: Thank you. So great to talk to you, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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