“Some of the rhetoric and political opinions I encountered were completely horrifying, but when I had actual one-on-one conversations with people, they couldn’t have been more pleasant. Which is the big tragedy of American politics,” says photographer Jamie Lee Taete of the final days of the US election. “That everyone is basically in the same boat and being convinced to hate each other by the powerful people that are actually making everyone’s lives miserable. Even Kari Lake, who spent a large portion of the speech that I attended pointing toward the media area and talking about how evil we all are, gave me and a couple of other photographers what felt like a pretty genuine thank you when she was leaving the event.”
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Attendees at the Kari Lake rally in Prescott, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Attendees at the Kari Lake rally in Prescott, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
The AV desk at the Kari Lake rally in Prescott, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
An attendee at the Kari Lake rally in Prescott, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
An attendee at the Kari Lake rally in Prescott, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
A table outside a polling station at the Mesa Convention Center in Mesa, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Pastor David McClellan serving a hot dog at a table for Republicans United outside a polling station at the Mesa Convention Center in Mesa, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
A reporter for Real America’s Voice outside a polling station at the Mesa Convention Center in Mesa, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Security fence, Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Maricopa County officials during a Maricopa County election news conference.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner and Assistant County Manager Zach Schira speak during a Maricopa County election news conference.
Photographs: Jamie Lee Taete
Security fence, Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Roadside election signage and billboard, Phoenix Arizona.
Photographs: Jamie Lee Taete
Election commercial in Phoenix, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
A line of voters outside a polling station at the Tolleson Civic Center in Tolleson, Arizona.Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Attendees during an election night party put on by the Arizona Democrats in Phoenix, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
The end of an election night party put on by the Arizona Democrats in Phoenix, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Attendees during an election night party put on by the Arizona Democrats in Phoenix, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Maricopa County, Arizona.
Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete
Maricopa County, Arizona.Photograph: Jamie Lee Taete