In Kingman, Arizona, where Route 66 winds through the Mojave Desert, Jack Alexander operates his biker gear shop, Thunder Road.”We love Trump here,” he tells me amid the biker leathers and an array of Donald Trump memorabilia that fill his store.
“We consider him the best president this country has ever had – perhaps only second to Ronald Reagan.”Although Jack is officially registered as an Independent voter – mirroring one in three residents in Arizona, the highest percentage in the nation – he proudly wears a MAGA hat and a Trump T-shirt, signaling his voting allegiance. He claims to have been the very first person in line when early voting commenced in this county.
“We don’t believe her. She can’t articulate her views or what she stands for,” he says, expressing concerns about the opposing candidate.
‘A Mismanaged Election’However, Jack is worried about the upcoming election’s management due to the previous experience during the last election.”The issue was that the election was stolen,” Jack asserts.
“We know it was a mismanaged election. We tried – and I mean a lot of people and myself personally – to get the voter rolls checked to confirm that those registering to vote with driver’s licenses and other forms of ID were legally eligible to vote in our state. The authorities refused to carry that out.”
Jack believes that a significant number of illegal immigrants – between 11 to 20 million over the last four years – can register to vote using drivers licenses as identification.
“If you’re registered using the federal form, it merely requires a checkbox that says ‘I’m a citizen’, and there’s no verification to confirm that those checking that box are indeed citizens.”
He warns that there are more than enough illegal immigrants in Arizona to potentially “sway the election” if they are registered and choose to vote.
“We have no way of knowing, and we are very concerned,” Jack admits.
In all likelihood, most illegal immigrants are avoiding attention by refraining from registering to vote or participating in elections.
This situation is part of what has made Arizona a hotspot for election conspiracy theories, leading to court challenges, threats against election workers, and an elaborate plot to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election – the infamous Fake Electors scheme.
Joe Biden won Arizona by slightly under 10,500 votes, marking his narrowest victory margin and flipping a historically Republican state to the Democrats.
Joe Biden secured Arizona in 2020 – the first Democrat to do so since Bill Clinton in 1996.
Prior to this, Arizona had only supported a Democratic President once in 70 years (that being Bill Clinton in 1996).
The election also sparked intense debates about the conduct of elections in the state, and disputes continue to this day.
The state’s Attorney General has succeeded in obtaining indictments against 18 individuals, including 11 Arizona Republicans and key Trump allies such as Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, and former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
This case parallels criminal cases being pursued in three other swing states: Georgia, Nevada, and Michigan, which similarly involve “Fake Electors” committed to pledging their votes to Donald Trump, hoping that on January 6, 2021, the then Vice President Mike Pence would acknowledge their votes instead of the legitimate ones cast for Joe Biden.
Outside the Capitol building, a smoldering protest developed, eventually erupting into a violent attack on Congress.
Upon announcing the charges in April, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes stated, “Justice demands accountability for the actions taken by the defendants and other unindicted co-conspirators to undermine the will of Arizona’s voters during the 2020 presidential election.”
“Arizona’s election was conducted freely and fairly. The people of Arizona elected President Biden. Unwilling to accept this fact, the defendants indicted by the Grand Jury allegedly conspired to obstruct the lawful transition of the presidency.”
Unlike Georgia, Donald Trump has not been indicted in Arizona or the other two states; however, he has been labeled as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in this case.
Donald Trump at a rally in Tempe, Arizona
All four cases are currently proceeding, albeit at a sluggish pace. Nonetheless, they serve as a stark reminder of the turmoil that unfolded four years ago.
This is not the only ongoing legal battle. Kari Lake, a former newscaster now running for the US Senate in Arizona (for the Republican Party), is engaged in litigation pertaining to her loss in the governor’s race two years ago – a result she refuses to accept. She is also a staunch Trump supporter.
Outside the early voting center at Kingman library, local Republican officials assert that there are no issues with the electoral system in the county – never have been, they declare.
“We feel very secure with our voting process. We have an outstanding recorder and an excellent director for our elections department, and they are dedicated to ensuring our voting remains impeccable,” says Jeanne Kentch, the Chair of the Republican Party in Mohave County.
She is confident that Trump will win their county; only the margin is uncertain.
“I estimate that we could be looking at about 70% Republican to Democrat, and that’s a very conservative estimate. It might be as much as 80%, considering we’ve been around 75% in the past,” she expresses.
Her party colleague, Jeff Rider, the Republican Party director for district one, which includes Kingman, shares that Republicans previously discouraged early and mail-in voting but now view it as a winning strategy.
Trump cast his ballot by mail in Florida to set a precedent.
“The trend four years ago was to vote in person, and we completely reversed that. Now, we see more early voting than Democrats, which is remarkable given that this has traditionally been a strong Republican ‘in-person voting’ town,” he explains.
This earlier disdain for early voting may have contributed to Trump’s defeat four years ago.
Party leaders were determined not to repeat that error and convinced Trump to reconsider his stance on early and mail-in voting.
For this election, the message to Republicans is clear: vote early. Trump himself has already cast his mail-in ballot in Florida as an example.
In an election where mobilizing voters is crucial, every method matters.
“I believe we were overconfident in 2020,” Jeanne Kentch reflects.
“We assumed we were in a red state. We believed we were a red county. We thought we would win regardless. This complacency is what ultimately hurt us, as Biden won by about 10,000 votes.”
“This time around, we will perform much better. There’s no complacency here in Mohave County – we’re actively voting.”
“We also know that if we rally our votes in Mohave County, we can surpass any irregularities in other counties,” Jeff Rider states.
Kamala Harris at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona
The “irregularities” refer to various ongoing legal and illegal challenges to the integrity of the election system in other areas of Arizona, including scrutiny of voter rolls and ID requirements, intimidation tactics against election workers, and even death threats.
This Wednesday, the Central Election office in Phoenix held a press conference featuring the Sheriff of Maricopa County (which encompasses most of Phoenix and 60% of the state’s electorate).
The Sheriff outlined the physical security measures enacted for the election to safeguard counting center workers and ballot boxes.
Bill Gates, the director of elections (a Republican, like the majority of Arizona’s elected officials), noted it was regrettable that an election press conference had to focus primarily on security.
Back in Kingman, we visited the local Democratic Party headquarters, where volunteers are busy preparing leaflet distributions. District chair, Maris Baudman, observes a noticeable difference compared to the 2020 campaign.
“Oh, it’s completely different. It’s been incredible. We’ve had individuals walk in here who have never set foot in our office before, and it’s simply amazing.”
“They say they’ve been lifelong Republicans but are now re-registered as Democrats. They want to know how they can help. Why? I think they are just exhausted by the division and the hatred perpetuated by Trump. They are simply tired of it.”
Arizona residents waiting in line to vote early
When I asked her if she personally had concerns about the integrity of the voting system in Mohave County, she replied: “Not here – we have the best,” echoing the sentiments of her Republican counterpart.
“I encourage people who have doubts about the voting process to volunteer as observers and see firsthand how everything operates. They’ll realize there are no shenanigans happening whatsoever.”
So why don’t the same views apply to other areas of the country?
“I think people jump to conclusions. It’s simply not happening – it’s a figment of their imagination and the misinformation propagated by right-wing media outlets everywhere.”
“The country is inundated with this rhetoric. You can’t listen to the radio without hearing one of these right-wing extremists spreading baseless propaganda. It’s disappointing – but that’s the reality we face here.”
The branch treasurer, Danny Baker, remains optimistic about the state-level elections, although he acknowledges the challenges in Mohave County.
“It is a robust Republican stronghold. We’re outnumbered roughly three to one in Mohave County.”
Does he believe Kamala Harris can win in Arizona?
“I truly think she’ll win Arizona. We’ve experienced significant turnout. Did you see how packed it was over there? That’s always a good sign for Democrats when we see high turnout.”
However, given the strong likelihood of legal challenges post-election in Arizona, it may be a while before we definitively know who emerged victorious on Route 66 during the 2024 election.
