Arizona Republicans Band Together in Opposition to Arizona Election Audit
Arizona Republicans are pushing back against the statewide audit of over 2.1 million ballots after the most recent allegations of voter fraud. Over the weekend, Former President Trump reignited the spotlight on the Arizona audit after he made claims that the "entire Database of Maricopa County in Arizona has been DELETED!" Trump's statement was an offshoot of Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert’s allegation of election “evidence being destroyed.”
The Maricopa County Recorder, Stephen Richer, responded to Trump’s statement on Twitter stating, “Wow. This is unhinged. I'm literally looking at our voter registration database on my other screen. Right now." Richer adds, "We can't indulge these insane lies any longer. As a party. As a state. As a country."
In an interview with CNN, Richer explains that he was “exasperated” by Trump’s claims and that it was akin “to saying the pencil sitting on my desk in front of me doesn't exist."
The latest and arguably most extreme claims of deleted election files stem from a Tweet that included a screenshot alleging proof of the deleted election files. The Tweet was made by the Arizona Senate’s Audit Twitter account; Senate Liaison Ken Bennett later pushed back against the legitimacy of the claim stating that the social media account was run by volunteers. Bennett added, "The tweet could have been worded differently but I thought it was correct that there were deleted files. We didn't say there was anything malicious. Maybe it was deleted because it was a duplicate of something that was elsewhere."
Perhaps the main trigger for Republican dissent of voter fraud was a letter that Arizona State Senate President Karen Fann sent to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. In the letter, Fann asked the board for “assistance and cooperation in the resolution of three serious issues that have arisen in the course of the Senate’s ongoing audit.” In one of the three issues, Fann expressed concerns over deleted voter databases.
On Monday, Arizona Republicans came out in a united front to put an end to what many have called a mockery audit operation. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, which is overwhelmingly Republican, came out explaining that the Senate’s audit was making a mockery of election proceedings. Chairman of the Supervisors Jack Sellers explained in a letter to Fann, “You have rented out the once good name of the Arizona State Senate to grifters and con-artists, who are fundraising hard-earned money from our fellow citizens even as your contractors parade around the Coliseum, hunting for bamboo and something they call ‘kinematic artifacts’ while shining purple lights for effect.” The letter goes on to explain, “None of these things are done in a serious audit. The result is that the Arizona Senate is held up to ridicule in every corner of the globe and our democracy is imperiled.” The letter was signed by all supervisors.
Expert in election technology Ryan Maclas explains of the auditing firm, Cyber Ninjas, "They do not have auditing experience. They do not have election technology experience. The more that this (the ballots) moves in and out, the more likely the chain of custody will be broken and the less likely that the data is reliable," Maclas says in reference to the 2.1 million ballots that were moved out of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum where the audit is taking place. The ballots were moved into semi-trucks where they are being held until the audit can resume after graduation ceremonies set to take place in the colosseum this week conclude. Maclas was brought in by the Arizona Secretary of State to observe the audit process. He shared with CNN about the operation, "There's ballots; there's people counting. But the process in which they are utilizing, at least on the counting floor, is nothing that is in an election environment."
As the audit continues past its originally planned time frame of three weeks, the firm is finding itself under increased scrutiny as it’s become more apparent how inexperienced Cyber Ninjas is as far as election proceedings go. CNN highlights that the firm has raked in hundreds of thousands in private fundraiser donations and that there is no indication that any safeguards are in place that control how much the firm will be able to bring in. Cyber Ninja’s partisan views have not helped with their credibility either. The firm is based out of Florida and its founder, Doug Logan, posted a slew of Tweets that showed his belief in the election being stolen. Logan was also listed as an expert witness in a lawsuit that alleged voter fraud in Michigan.
In the tightly secured coliseum, officials allowed select reporters to come inside and observe the process during its final week. Audit officials shared with reporters the process in which the workers, many of whom are Trump sympathizers, looked at individual ballots. Officials explained that part of the process included looking for bamboo fibers to assess whether or not thousands of fraudulent ballots were flown in from parts of Asia.
These unfounded claims along with mounting baseless and false allegations have led Arizona Republican leaders to band together. In the letter to Fann, Sellers concludes, "I just want to make it clear I will not be responding to any more requests from this sham process.” Sellers adds, “Finish what you're calling an audit, and be ready to defend your report."
