Another Arizona election conspiracy theory is born. Have these people no shame?

The polls weren’t even closed in Arizona before members of the MAGA Nation started complaining that the fix was in on Tuesday’s election.

Cue Kari Lake’s right-hand gal, Merissa Hamilton, who was there, video camera in hand, at the Paradise Valley Unified School District headquarters, where a drop box closed at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

As advertised.

“ABSOLUTE CHAOS ON ELECTION DAY IN @MARICOPACOUNTY (AGAIN),” Hamilton breathlessly announced, in a social media post that had more than a half a million views. “Per dozens of voters @RecordersOffice told people they could vote until 7 pm. @PV It closed @ 4:30. Several voters say they can’t vote now. We’ve talked to hundreds of voters tonight to redirect them to new locations.”

“DISENFRANCHISED VOTERS,” Hamilton continued. “Several people came here in time to vote but since it was closed, they didn’t have enough time to drive to another voting location. Closing voting locations before the voting deadline time on Election Day is absolutely asinine and clear Voter Suppression."

She went on. And on.

Count on MAGA to spew misinformation

Naturally, the leader of the band picked up the refrain.

“The courts in Arizona have a chance to make this right,” U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake replied, ensuring that Hamilton’s message reached her 1.6 million followers. “I hope they don’t screw it up. Our republic can not withstand much more of this.”

On that, I will agree.

The MAGA crowd really needs to stop undermining democracy. Especially when they either don’t know what they are talking about or just flat out don’t care when they make like a fire hose and spew misinformation.

Here in the real world, voting locations were open until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, as required by law and advertised on Maricopa County’s elections website.

Meanwhile, a few drop boxes located in government buildings closed early. Also as advertised for weeks before the election.

The county could have done a better job of warning voters of the early closures in its communications sent out before the election, which said that ballots should be dropped of "no later than" 7 p.m. But anyone looking for a drop-off location presumably would have gone to the county's website, where the hours were listed.

Hard to argue that anyone couldn't vote

By law, in a vote-by-mail election, each city or school district must open one voting center within its jurisdiction, where voters can go until 7 p.m. on Election Day to get and vote a replacement ballot.

PV officials additionally opted to have a secure ballot drop box at their district office for the last month or so, for those who opted not to mail in their ballots.

That’s something I would think would make the election denial crowd happy, given their concern about unmanned drop boxes placed on the street for any old Tom, Dick or Drug Mule to stuff.

2 big reasons why: Kari Lake is behind in the polls

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, says it was the school district’s call to make that particular drop box available only during business hours.

“If somebody showed up at 5 p.m., he or she would have had two hours to drop off at another location,” Richer told me. “And, of course, you could vote in any of the preceding 26 days.”

It’s worth mentioning that that other location — PV’s voting center, which was open until 7 p.m. — was Sunset Canyon Elementary School, just 2.9 miles away from the drop box that closed at 4:30 p.m.

Blame Richer for committing a non-crime?

None of which mattered a whit on Tuesday when Hamilton et al were presented with the chance to spin up the base.

“Complete voter disenfranchisement!” she fumed.

Naturally, the head of Lake’s hallelujah chorus, the Gateway Pundit’s Jordan Conradson, got in on the act.

“Maricopa County is rigging another election,” he cried, in response to Hamilton’s post. “These crooks did it in 2020, 2022, 2023, and will do it again in 2024 if the Dems fail to jail the leading opposition candidate.”

The MAGA faithful were, predictably, outraged.

“Richer must resign,” one man demanded.

“@stephen_richer should be fired for this,” another of the faithful fumed. “That’s 2 elections he’s been responsible for where voters couldn’t vote. I hope he’s held to account for this severe suppression."

“He needs to be prosecuted!” wrote still another.

Behold, the latest election conspiracy

Richer is supposed to resign, be fired or even prosecuted for a non-crime involving drop box hours he didn’t set.

Goodness.

For those keeping score, Paradise Valley’s bond was approved with nearly 54% of the vote, as were most of the bond and override requests held in the county on Tuesday.

But sure, fraud.

“The Democrats in Maricopa County reassured Republicans they could vote till 7 pm, after they got off work at 5 pm.,” wrote one MAGA voter, responding to Lake’s post. “Then Democrats voted up till 5 pm, because they don’t have jobs, closed the voting at 5pm and won the election by lying cheating and stealing.”

Behold, another election conspiracy theory is born.

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @LaurieRoberts or on Threads at @laurierobertsaz.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: An Arizona election conspiracy is born, this time in Paradise Valley