From New York Times, I'm Michael Bavaro. This is a Daily.

Half the Republican candidates on the ballot in November's election still deny that President

Biden won the 2020 election. A level of denialism that is fueling an unprecedented volume of harassment

and threats toward election workers. Few have experienced those attacks as viscerally as

election workers in Arizona. A state that Donald Trump still refuses to acknowledge he lost

and where the Republican candidates for Governor Attorney General and Secretary of State

all embrace his false claim that the election was stolen.

Today, a conversation with the top election official in Arizona's biggest county about what it's

like to oversee voting when so many of the voters themselves doubt the legitimacy of the process.

It's Monday, October 24th.

Okay, so Stephen, thank you for making time for us. I know that you're in the thick of it

because early voting has actually started in Arizona, so every minute of time we take from you

is precious. So we're grateful. I appreciate the opportunity very much. So Stephen Richard

oversees elections in Maricopa County, which accounts for more than half of the voters in Arizona.

And it's past is growing county in the United States for I think like four out of the last five

years and it is he's a lifelong Republican conservative movement conservative Milton Friedman,

federal society kid, etc, etc. Right. So a true believer, a true believer.

And in 2018, after a career in business and law, he decided to run for the local office of

county recorder. I thought it was an office that was exciting. I thought it was an office where

you're serving 4.5 million customers. That's how many people are in the Maricopa County

in Maricopa County and running a business that happens to be involved in politics.

So you run. It is 2020. I'm curious when did you begin to understand just how unusual

...