Ahead of the midterms, election officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County received more than 100 violent threats and intimidating communications. Bill Gates, the Republican chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, spoke to reporters on Thursday.

Bill Gates: “More people need to start speaking out and saying that that is absolutely unacceptable. No one should be the subject of death threats, but particularly not those who are simply trying to keep our democracy afloat and count the votes and make sure that every eligible voter’s ballot is treated with respect.”