Video of workers collecting Arizona mail ballots is not evidence of fraud

Former Arizona gubernatorial and US Senate candidate Kari Lake and other Republicans are targeting the state’s Pima County with allegations of election fraud after a video of two individuals emptying an overstuffed ballot drop box spread across social media. But both the county and an independent elections expert told AFP the clip shows a bipartisan team of employees following standard protocols to retrieve the envelopes and securely transport them for counting.

“Happening now in #Pima County #Electionfraud,” said Leslie White, the Arizona director for the conservative advocacy group Citizens for Renewing America, in a November 4, 2025 post on X. “No security, no observers, no oversight. Unbelievable.”

The post includes a clip of two people removing ballots from a drop box that is filled to capacity as a third man looks on.

The clip quickly spread across X and other platforms on Election Day, amplified by failed Arizona gubernatorial and US Senate candidate Lake as well as prominent right-wing X accounts such as @WallStreetApes, which AFP has repeatedly fact-checked for spreading election misinformation.

“We must end mail-in ballots,” Lake wrote, suggesting elections were no longer “honest” in response to a post from Arizona state Senator Jake Hoffman about the security of the ballots in the video.

Arizona has faced multiple false narratives about election fraud in recent years.

Pima County was targeted with false accusations in 2020 that felt-tipped Sharpie pens offered to fill out ballots would invalidate votes.

Despite no evidence of widespread fraud, state officials invested millions in a new election center and have hosted voter information sessions to try and restore shaken confidence.

But US President Donald Trump and his supporters — including Lake, now an adviser in the administration — continue to target mail ballots with unfounded claims of election fraud.

The video from Pima County, however, is not evidence of wrongdoing.

Protocols followed

Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly told AFP in a November 4 emailed statement that the video shows “permanent, full-time Pima County Recorder’s Office staff members,” two of whom were supervisors, conducting a scheduled ballot pick-up (archived here).

All three wore identifying badges and lanyards, and they were driving a rental car with signage indicating they were from the recorder’s office, she said.

The badges are visible in the video and another clip shared by White on X, where one of the men identifies himself as a recorder’s office employee.

Pima County detailed the multiple security features of the ballot boxes, which are located on county property and surveilled by secure video (archived here).

“The two staff members touching the ballot affidavit envelopes are a bipartisan team. They had the two keys necessary to open the box and remove ballots,” Cázares-Kelly said.

“They filled two black transfer bags, secured them with seals and immediately transported them to our Ballot Processing Center. All appropriate protocols were followed, including informing the main office of their arrival and departure times and filling out the appropriate ballot transfer logs.”

In her statement, she also said this was the first time since the implementation of the drop boxes in June 2025 that it had been filled “beyond capacity,” and that the county would examine if multiple boxes will be needed at that site in the future.

The Arizona Secretary of State pointed AFP in a November 5 email to its elections procedure manual, which mandates “secure ballot retrieval and chain of custody procedures” that include at least two designated ballot retrievers from different parties retrieving drop box votes while wearing badges (archived here).

‘Standard’ activities

Tammy Patrick, chief program officer for the National Association of Elections and a former official for Arizona’s Maricopa County Elections Department, also said the video shows “standard election administration activities” (archived here).

In a November 4 email, she told AFP it is common for election officials to place ballots into a box or bag for transportation which is then secured with “tamper-evident seals,. She noted these are visible in the left hand of the woman touching the envelopes.

“Ballot transportation, whether from a drop box or the polling place, has very specific protocols and measures in place to secure the ballots,” Patrick added.

Arizona has an online system to allow voters to track the date a ballot was returned and received by the county recorder, whether it was accepted and whether its signature was verified.

Voting by mail is regularly targeted with claims it can lead to widespread election fraud, but experts say the assertion is unsupported.

The conservative Heritage Foundation has recorded 40 individuals convicted for election-related crimes in the state of Arizona since 1982, with only seven cases linked to absentee ballots (archived here).

Find more of AFP’s reporting on misinformation impacting US politics here.