"The results were accurate and complete, and it's time to move forward."

Vice-Chairman @JackSellers's remarks moving to certify Maricopa County, AZ election returns on Fri.

4-GOP
1-Dem

Unanimous approval.

WATCH how it happened.

Highlight reel in thread.
"It's time to dial back the rhetoric, conspiracies and false claims. In a free democracy, elections result in some people's candidate losing... I'm not going to violate the law or deviate from my own more compass."

— Chair @ClintLHickman (R), adding some pushed him to do that
"I have not played games with any other canvass we have voted we have voted on over the past eight years of sitting in this chair and as sitting on this board. I am not calculating or playing games today."

— Maricopa County Supervisor @Steve_Chucri (R), certifying the election
"When I became a lawyer, I took an oath to support the constitution and the laws of the United States and the state of Arizona. Then, when I was fortunate enough to become a member of this board, I again took an oath."

— Maricopa Supervisor @BillGatesAZ (R), certifying the vote
"I'm not gonna be partisan, but I wanted to state this. Because the transfer of power in this country, it is the key — the backbone to our democracy. It's what makes this country so different."

— Maricopa Supervisor @Steve_Gallardo (D), joining his GOP peers certifying the vote
I must confess:

As a reporter far away from that jurisdiction, I do not usually keep a close eye on the meetings of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

Most years, I presume, the certification process does not feature soaring speeches about our survival as a democracy.
This year, we know, is different.

And this year, Maricopa County's Board—Chair @ClintLHickman (R), Vice-Chair @JackSellers (R), and Supervisors @BillGatesAZ (R), @Steve_Chucri (R) and @Steve_Gallardo (D)—rose to the occasion and did democracy proud, doing their jobs honorably.
Yes, they were doing their jobs and what the law required of them.

But they went further than that.

Knowing there was a global audience, they defended the continuation of democratic order loudly at a time when it needed it.
I should add:

Two crucial certifications will be happening tomorrow in Michigan and Pennsylvania, which will clinch POTUS-elect Joe Biden's victory yet again, removing even a fig leaf of depriving ascertainment.

I will be watching closely, as, I expect, will much of the world.
This is why the example set by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on Friday still matters and deserves wide recognition today.
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