AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Election Day is just over five weeks away. Millions of people are preparing to vote against a backdrop of high inflation, rising food and gas prices and a costly war with Iran. President Trump, whose approval ratings dropped to a record low last week, has repeatedly sought to undermine confidence in elections.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The election system we have dangerously exposes - and really exposes like levels never thought possible - the hacking, exploitation and foreign interference...
RASCOE: That's the president during a primetime address in July. Trump has not provided evidence of widespread election fraud, but he's still managed to sow confusion among voters, like 35-year-old Kindu Delashment (ph).
KINDU DELASHMENT: You hear things - elections are being stolen, elections are being rigged. It's definitely something that's in the back of your mind, especially, like, when you're going to the polls and when you're voting. Like, does this actually matter, what we're doing, or is there somebody in there influencing the process through different means?
RASCOE: Election administrators across the country are trying to reassure voters, both Democratic officials and Republicans, like Kate Brophy McGee.
KATE BROPHY MCGEE: Our systems and our processes in place are gold standard. I will stand by them, and I will stand by our elections employees to the end.
RASCOE: Brophy McGee chairs the board of supervisors in Arizona's Maricopa County, a battleground in the midterms that will help determine which political party controls the House of Representatives. When I talked to her in her office in Phoenix, she told me about the county's electorate.
BROPHY MCGEE: It's really divided. It's a third, a third, a third. So you've - depending on the election and what the independents do, the results and the outcomes can be very, very different. I have learned this the hard way. I've been in public service and on the ballot, one form or another, here in Maricopa County for well over 20 years and 17 elections. It depends on what the voters do.
RASCOE: So this is a swing county. It can really go a variety of ways.
BROPHY MCGEE: Swing county, swing state, huge voting jurisdiction - it attracts a lot of attention, both within the state and nationally.
RASCOE: I'm sure I don't need to remind you about this, but, you know, Maricopa County became a hot spot for election denialism after the 2020 presidential election, which Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. There were armed protests outside the election center here.
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UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: You're not going to let them steal this. We're not going to let them steal it in Georgia. We're not going to let them steal it.
RASCOE: Death threats and harassment. Are you concerned we could see something similar after the midterm elections in November?
BROPHY MCGEE: We are prepared. Maricopa County represents the gold standard in security in the conduct of transparent elections where voters have free access to the ballots and the ballot box. I can also say, as a candidate in 2020 in the one and only election I lost, it hurts. It's easy to say, my guy lost because somebody cheated. But that's never been the truth, ever.
RASCOE: When you say you're prepared, do you have a plan if a candidate who loses refuses to concede or says, this election is rigged, I'm not going to concede, or tries to take some sort of action?
BROPHY MCGEE: We have planned for every circumstance, a lot of that earned through hard experience. Since I've been chair - and it's an election year - I've participated in many security meetings related to keeping our elections functioning and running well. And we work with law enforcement's jurisdictions across the county to do exactly that. We are ready.
RASCOE: As you said, you've been involved in many elections. How have things changed over the years?
BROPHY MCGEE: I would say that our technology that backs up our elections process has been magnificently evolved. And by that, I mean we have more technology by far in place than we did when I first started, and you had to go in and sign it by hand into these paper books. The other thing that I can say is that we have wonderful redundancies to our election system to ensure that we maintain absolute control over the entire process, and we use a lot of technology to do that.
RASCOE: Are you worried that the federal government could try to intervene or try to get ballots or try to bring the National Guard in or try to, you know, bring in ICE agents? Or - there've been so many things that people have thrown out there.
BROPHY MCGEE: What I can tell you is that there are laws in place that prevent interference at the voting sites. We welcome observers. This last election, we had the Department of Justice call us and say, we're sending in observers. We welcomed them. We allowed them access to the process. And that's what I am expecting, if that happens. Anything above and beyond that represents interference in elections, and that's against the law.
RASCOE: A lot of eyes across the country are going to be focused on this county. What do you say to voters who may be questioning the election system?
BROPHY MCGEE: I say to voters, vote confidently. Your vote will be counted. Again, because we are a swing county in a swing state, very different things happen in different elections. In 2016, I was on the ballot. It was a wave election. I won. So did Mr. Trump. In 2020, I was on the ballot with Mr. Trump. We both lost. I know that hurts. In 2024, we had another wave election. I was on the ballot with Mr. Trump, and I won. So I can say, vote confidently, make your voice heard, and the ballots will be counted accurately, fairly.
RASCOE: That's Kate Brophy McGee who chairs the Board of Supervisors in Maricopa County. Thank you so much for joining us.
BROPHY MCGEE: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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