Trump calls Maricopa County 'very, very dishonest' after vendor mails 3,126 ballots early

At a Monday news conference, President Donald Trump rejected Maricopa County's explanation that a vendor error caused 3,126 early ballots to be mailed six days ahead of schedule, falsely claiming the county "sent out thousands of ballots illegally" and calling Maricopa "a very, very dishonest county." The miscue was attributed to Runbeck Election Services, which said a pallet of staged mail was released to the USPS on Oct. 1 due to human error; the county recorder's office run by Republican Justin Heap said the correct ballots went to the correct voters who had requested them, remain valid, and can be returned normally. The Associated Press noted Trump has frequently focused false 2020 stolen-election claims on Maricopa County, a battleground county that has been a regular target of election conspiracy theories, and that he has been ramping up voting rhetoric ahead of the midterm elections.

“Maricopa sent out thousands of ballots illegally, and they got caught! And now they're saying it was an error. Maricopa is a very, very dishonest county.” Quote verified against source