144-751: The 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit , commonly referred to as the Arizona audit , was an examination of ballots cast in Maricopa County during the 2020 United States presidential election in Arizona initiated by Republicans in the Arizona State Senate and executed by private firms. Begun in April 2021, the audit stirred controversy due to extensive previous efforts by former president Donald Trump and his allies to overturn
288-696: A Missouri public school employee. In June 2021, it was reported that Trump had told associates that based on the results of the audit, he would be reinstated as president by August 2021. By August, false assertions spread on the internet that fraud had been discovered in the form of "lost" and "ghost" ballots that would've assured a Trump victory. Some of the false claims originated with outspoken Trump supporter Mike Lindell , fake news website The Gateway Pundit and an Arizona real estate broker. The Arizona vote audit report in September saw Trump have 261 fewer votes and Biden have 99 more votes than they had had in
432-648: A Republican candidate in the 2018 United States Senate election in Massachusetts , claimed to have found faulty or missing signatures on ballot envelopes that could have resulted in thousands of duplicate ballots being counted, though election workers contact such voters so they can "cure" the errors and their ballots can be counted. The county said no duplicate ballots were counted. Ayyadurai also said he found 17,322 duplicate ballot envelope images, which he suggested might mean ballots had been counted more than once. However, election workers may take multiple images of
576-464: A ballot envelope as the signature curing process proceeds with voters, and each envelope bears a barcode to track that process and ensure that only one ballot is counted per voter. Ayyadurai asserted the receipt of envelopes "surged right after the election was over," though state law allows election workers five business days after elections to cure signatures, so there was a spike in such activity for those who voted on or just before election day. During
720-408: A commercial database system to compare addresses, saying they found voters who had moved out of state or died before they voted, though that database system is not always accurate and the auditors conceded it was not comprehensive. The auditors said that "a number" of the 86,391 individuals they could not find in the database — which Trump characterized as "phantom voters" — "are in fact real people with
864-628: A false version" of the audit report, and that the notion that the Arizona State Senate had issued threats to suppress the edited report was "absolutely false". Arizona State Senate audit liaison Randy Pullen, a former chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, also stated that the edited report was "a fake document", and further said that "there was never a discussion about decertifying" the election. During an October 2021 podcast in which conservative activist Joe Oltmann
1008-619: A full list of TGDC members ) Critics have contended that the EAC has responded positively to political pressure from the Republican Party and the Department of Justice . For example, the EAC is said to have overstated the problem of voter fraud, which is often cited by Republicans as a justification for restrictive measures that Democrats charge are intended to prevent qualified Democrats from voting. The EAC Chair denied that there
1152-527: A hand recount of the 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County. The hand recount was managed by Wake Technology Services, which reportedly had been hired for a previous audit in a rural Pennsylvania county by Trump attorney Sidney Powell, who has promoted numerous conspiracy theories about the election. The firm works primarily in the healthcare sector with little to no experience with elections. The Arizona Republicans provided $ 150,000 of funding from
1296-448: A household in the county was $ 45,358, and for a family was $ 51,827. Males had a median income of $ 36,858 versus $ 28,703 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 22,251. About 8.0% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over. In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in Maricopa County were Catholics, who are organized under
1440-639: A limited public record and commercial presence; but it is unclear how large that number is." Barry Burden , director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison , said it was unclear how data were collected for the database. Election workers can make a duplicate of a ballot that tabulation machines reject due to damage. Cyber Ninjas said it counted 2,592 more duplicated ballots than had originally been sent for duplication. County officials said they were confident
1584-602: A more limited constitutional amendment Proposition 102 to ban same-sex marriage but not state-recognized civil unions or domestic partnerships. The amendment was later invalidated by the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges , which declared that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right in the United States. Unlike cities and towns in Arizona, counties are politically and legally subordinate to
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#17327867908321728-598: A process for vendors to submit their equipment to an Independent Test Authority (ITA) for evaluation against the Standards. The NASED has compiled a list of Qualified Voting Systems 12-22-05 The Help America Vote Act mandated the federal certification process be assumed by the EAC. The EAC implemented an interim certification program in July 2006 which provided a means to obtain federal certification for modifications required by state and local election officials administering
1872-511: A set of specifications and requirements against which voting systems can be tested to determine if the systems provide all of the basic functionality, accessibility and security capabilities required of these systems. In addition, the guidelines establish evaluation criteria for the national certification of voting systems. The EAC's Technical Guidelines Development Committee , with technical support from NIST are tasked with developing an initial set of recommendations for each VVSG iteration. After
2016-695: A supposed "lab" in Bigfork, Montana . The exact nature of the data and what efforts had been taken to keep it secure was unclear. A CNN reporter traveled to the location listed in property records for the subcontractor and found a cabin in a wooded non-commercial area. In late June 2021, the Monmouth University Polling Institute reported that a majority of Americans viewed this and similar audits as "partisan efforts to undermine valid election results". The auditors announced on June 25 they had finished counting and photographing
2160-731: A text message to a Republican election official to say she had spoken with Trump and "We need you to stop the counting." She also asked the official to contact Trump attorney Sidney Powell , adding, "I know you don't want to be remembered as the guy who led the charge to certify a fraudulent election." In Maricopa County, no discrepancies had been found in either a hand count audit on November 4, 2020, nor in an additional physical hand recount of 47,000 ballots (2% of election-day ballots plus 5,000 early voting ballots) conducted from November 7 through November 9, 2020. On February 23, 2021, Maricopa County announced that forensic audits of their vote tabulation equipment by two independent auditors accredited by
2304-525: A week. However, it does not stop in Phoenix itself. The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Maricopa County. † county seat In 2019, the largest employers in Maricopa County were: According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis , in 2019 the employment of Maricopa County in the following sectors was: Maricopa produces far more Brassica than anywhere else in
2448-418: Is also charged with developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form. The EAC is tasked with performing a number of election-related duties including: The HAVA requires the EAC will create voluntary guidelines for voting systems, maintaining a clearinghouse of information regarding election administration procedures including testing and certification of election equipment, and administering
2592-466: Is also produced here. All of the boysenberry , half of the elderberry (along with Yavapai ), and a small amount of the state's blackberry and strawberry are harvested here. A large part of the vegetable seed in Arizona is grown here. 33°30′50″N 112°28′33″W / 33.51389°N 112.47583°W / 33.51389; -112.47583 Election Assistance Commission The Election Assistance Commission ( EAC )
2736-532: Is an independent agency of the United States government created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Commission serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment. It
2880-479: Is by far Arizona's most populous county, encompassing well over half of the state's residents. It is the largest county in the United States to have a capital city. Maricopa County has 14 regional parks: It also has at least 21 protected areas: From 2009 to 2011, an inventory of all vascular plants growing along the Salt River (Arizona) , Gila River , New River and Agua Fria River and their tributaries in
3024-450: Is home to 62 percent of the state's population and therefore dominates Arizona's politics. For example, in the 2018 Senate election , Democrat Kyrsten Sinema carried the county en route to becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Arizona since 1988 . She won the county by over 60,000 votes, more than enough for the victory; she won statewide by 55,900 votes. All but one of the state's nine congressional districts include part of
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#17327867908323168-400: The 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and the most populous county in Arizona, and making Arizona one of the nation's most centralized states. The county seat is Phoenix , the state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States. Maricopa County is the central county of
3312-571: The Federal Register before money for new voting equipment could be disbursed to the states. On December 6, 2006 Caroline Hunter and Rosemary E. Rodriguez were nominated by President George W. Bush to replace Ray Martinez and Paul DeGregorio. They were confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 15, 2007. In 2010, the EAC lost its quorum of Commissioners, after the resignation or end of term of Hunter (2008), Rodriguez (2009) and Hillman (2010), preventing many normal operational duties; and
3456-588: The George W. Bush administration's Department of Justice that the report had incorporated. In 2009, the United States Office of Special Counsel issued a report that found that the EAC engaged in political discrimination in federal hiring against an attorney to fill the General Counsel position because he was a Republican. The report was in response to a settlement between the attorney and
3600-658: The Gila River Indian Community (south of Chandler). According to the United States Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 9,224 sq mi (23,890 km ), of which 24 sq mi (62 km ) (0.3%) is covered by water. Maricopa County is one of the largest counties in the United States by area , with a land area greater than that of four other US states . From west to east, it stretches 132 miles (212 km), and 103 miles (166 km) from north to south. It
3744-928: The National Governors Association , the National Conference of State Legislatures , the National Association of Secretaries of State , the National Association of State Election Directors , the National Association of Counties , the National Association of County Recorders, Election Officials, and Clerks (NACRC), the United States Conference of Mayors , the Election Center, the International Association of County Recorders, Election Officials, and Treasurers (IACREOT),
3888-624: The Phoenix metropolitan area was done. In October 2022, Maricopa County Environmental Services Department detected Dengue virus in mosquitoes they had trapped; in November the first locally transmitted case of dengue fever was reported in the County and Arizona state as a whole - previous dengue cases in Maricopa County had been related to travel. As of the 2010 census , 3,817,117 people, 1,411,583 households, and 932,814 families were living in
4032-762: The Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area . The Office of Management and Budget renamed the metropolitan area in September 2018. Previously, it was the Phoenix–Mesa–Glendale metropolitan area, and in 2000, that was changed to Phoenix–Mesa–Scottsdale. Maricopa County was named after the Maricopa people . Five Indian reservations are located in the county. The largest are the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community (east of Scottsdale) and
4176-758: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix with 519,950 Catholics and 99 parishes, and 9 additional eastern rite Catholic parishes. This is followed by 242,732 LDS Mormons with 503 congregations, 213,640 non-denominational adherents with 309 congregations, 93,252 Assembly of God Pentecostals with 120 congregations, 73,207 Southern Baptists with 149 congregations, 35,804 Christian churches and churches of Christ Christians with 29 congregations, 30,014 Evangelical Lutherans with 47 congregations, 28,634 UMC Methodists with 55 congregations, 18,408 Missouri Synod Lutherans with 34 congregations, and 15,001 Presbyterians with 42 congregations. Altogether, 39.1% of
4320-883: The United States Commission on Civil Rights , and the Architectural and Transportation Barrier Compliance Board. The Board also includes the chief of the Office of Public Integrity of the Department of Justice , the Chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice , and the director of the Federal Voting Assistance Program of the Department of Defense . Further,
4464-516: The United States Department of Justice sent Karen Fann , president of the Arizona State Senate, a letter expressing concerns that the audit might violate federal laws. One concern was that the law requires election officials to maintain custody of all voting records for up to 22 months. Another concern was that the statement of work for Cyber Ninjas authorized Cyber Ninjas to knock on voters' doors to ask them if they had voted in
2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit - Misplaced Pages Continue
4608-703: The United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration . (see a full list of Advisory Board members ) The Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) is tasked with assisting the EAC in drafting the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines . The Committee membership consists of the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); 14 members appointed jointly by
4752-428: The census of 2000, 3,072,149 people, 1,132,886 households, and 763,565 families were living in the county. The population density was 334 people/sq mi (129 people/km ). The 1,250,231 housing units averaged of 136 per square mile (53/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 77.4% White, 3.7% African American, 1.9% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 12.0% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. About 29.5% of
4896-792: The political spectrum characterized the effort as a sham or "fraudit" that was an element of the false claim that the presidential election had been stolen from Trump. The auditors released a report in September 2021, finding no proof of fraud and that their ballot recount increased Biden's margin of victory by 360 votes. After the 2020 presidential election was called for Biden, Trump and his allies made many allegations of election fraud that were dismissed by numerous state and federal judges, election officials, governors, and government agencies as completely baseless. Multiple congressional Republicans, as well as governors and other elected officials, refused to acknowledge Biden's victory. The Trump campaign and its allies filed at least 63 lawsuits , including to
5040-515: The 2.1 million ballots, and Bennett stated a final report would come in weeks or months. On July 9, Fann announced the Senate would conduct another ballot count as a check on the work done by Cyber Ninjas and the earlier count by county election officials. On July 14, two House Democrats, Carolyn Maloney and Jamie Raskin , opened an investigation into Cyber Ninjas, sending a letter to Logan requesting documents and records of any communications between
5184-462: The 2006 General Election. In summer 2006 the EAC barred the company Ciber Inc. from approving further voting machines. Federal officials found that it was not following its quality-control procedures and could not document that it was conducting all the required tests. According to the EAC "Ciber, Inc. has applied for interim accreditation, but EAC has not completed its review, so the Ciber application
5328-602: The 2016 presidential election and had denied Trump a majority in the popular vote. An injunction was placed on the changes by a US Appeals court, although the case remained with the US District Court. The US Election Assistance Commission has assumed federal responsibility for accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment through the Voting System Certification & Laboratory Accreditation Program. The purpose of
5472-579: The 2020 elections, which might amount to voter intimidation and constitute a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . After the Department of Justice threatened to sue over this plan, Cyber Ninjas agreed not to do it. The Arizona Republic reported in May that because Arizona Senate Republicans had given private companies and individuals unfettered and unmonitored access to voting machines,
5616-494: The 7th is primarily Tucson -based. †Member was originally appointed to the office. School districts with territory in the county (no matter how slight, even if the administration and schools are in other counties) include: Unified: Secondary: Elementary: There is also a state-operated school, Phoenix Day School for the Deaf . The Phoenix Indian School was formerly in the county. The major primary commercial airport of
5760-641: The Arizona public records law. The judge found that government officials could not shield information about their official activities by farming it out to private companies. Another judge and an appeals court agreed, and in September the Arizona Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Senate Republicans, requiring the documents to be released. On July 15, preliminary findings were presented by Doug Logan, Ken Bennett, and Ben Cotton in an Arizona Senate hearing led by Arizona Senate member Warren Petersen and Arizona Senate president Karen Fann. During
5904-876: The Board also includes four members representing professionals in the field of science and technology, one appointed by the Speaker and one by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives , one appointed by the Majority Leader and one by the Minority Leader of the Senate . Of the eight final members of the Board, four members are appointed by the United States House Committee on House Administration and four members are appointed by
2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit - Misplaced Pages Continue
6048-509: The Board of Supervisors and raised "the possibility of placing the validity of the entire 2020 election into question." A poll conducted at the end of March found that 78.3% of Arizona Republicans believed "that there was significant voter fraud in the 2020 United States Presidential Election which compromised the integrity of the election." It was reported in June 2021 that a Cyber Ninjas subcontractor had transported copies of voting systems data to
6192-643: The Commissioner who recommended his being hired, Christy McCormick, as well. In February 2016, Newby approved requests from three states to change state-specific instructions on the NVRA federal form related to proof of citizenship for voter registration. These states required proof of citizenship by state law, a controversial policy being pushed by conservative GOP members such as Kris Kobach of Kansas, that would be used in support of Donald Trump's widely discredited claim that millions of illegal votes had been cast in
6336-579: The Cyber Ninjas, had deployed to Sky Harbor airport shortly following the election and attempted to stop a South Korean plane believing it to be stuffed with counterfeit ballots. The audit was supposed to have concluded on May 14, but as of May 9, only 12% of the ballots were counted. The audit was being conducted at the main floor of the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum , which was not available for this activity beyond
6480-629: The EAC and the Director of NIST from the Standards Board, the Board of Advisors, the Architectural and Transportation Barrier, and the Access Board, a representative of American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a representative of the IEEE , two representatives of the NASED, and other individuals with technical and scientific expertise relating to voting systems and voting equipment. (see
6624-417: The EAC is Steven Frid , who succeeded Interim Executive Director, Mark A. Robbins. Prior to him, Mona Harrington served as Executive Director. She succeeded Brian Newby, who served a four-year term from October 2015 to October 2019. Newby succeeded Thomas R. Wilkey, the agency's first Executive Director, who resigned in November 2011. Prior to the EAC, Wilkey served a four-year term as the executive director of
6768-429: The EAC to disburse. The funds were not distributed because the commissioners were not confirmed until December 9, 2003; the law had required that they be in place by February 26, 2003. The initial Commissioners were: In its 2004 budget, Congress again allocated $ 1.5 billion to fund HAVA. By January 2004, the EAC did not have permanent offices or budget, even though it was required to publish state election reform plans in
6912-544: The EAC, in which the attorney was paid an unspecified amount of money. In 2019, an article in Politico reported that Newby had been the subject of extensive criticism from within and without the agency since his hiring in 2015, culminating in multiple calls for his resignation from Democratic members of the House and the Senate. Anonymous sources reported that Newby played a large role in many EAC staffers leaving, including
7056-631: The EMS server just before their audit was set to begin. The data had actually been archived to permanent storage systems in February, before a county-commissioned audit was to begin, and no data were missing. The auditors also asserted that some voting equipment was connected to the Internet, citing a server in the Recorder's office, but county officials noted that server was not part of the EMS and maintained
7200-439: The EMS was not connected to the Internet. In its report, the auditors said 3,432 more ballots were cast than were shown in a file of voters provided by the county, but the county explained that certain government officials and others are excluded from that file for their personal security because the file contains home addresses. One audit team member, Shiva Ayyadurai , who is known to promote conspiracy theories and who had filed as
7344-548: The Election Assistance and Help America Vote Programs. The EAC publishes the Election Administration and Voting Survey, a study examining how states administer federal elections, every two years. In 2003, Congress appropriated US$ 1.5 billion for HAVA. The General Services Administration distributed most of the $ 650 million permitted under Title I of HAVA, and the remainder was earmarked for
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#17327867908327488-798: The Executive Director, was Juliet E. Thompson. She previously held the position of Associate General Counsel at the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, and General Counsel of the Louisiana Department of Elections and Registration. The current Inspector General is Brianna Schletz. The Office of the Inspector General is tasked with detecting and preventing fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement of EAC programs, regularly performing audits and evaluations. The EAC Standards Board
7632-573: The Feasibility of Developing Voluntary Standards for Voting Equipment was produced in early 1984. In July 1984 the FEC armed with congressionally appropriated funds began a six-year task of creating the first national performance and test standards for punchcard, marksense, and direct recording electronic voting systems. The resulting body of work was the first set of voluntary Voting System Standards issued in 1990. In addition to their involvement in
7776-635: The Justice Department threatened to sue over the practice. A July Associated Press investigation found that Arizona election officials had identified 182 ballots out of 3.4 million cast statewide that were sufficiently problematic to be referred to investigators for further review. Four of those incidents had led to charges, two against Democratic voters and two against Republicans. A spokesman for Arizona Republican attorney general Mark Brnovich had said in April that 21 active investigations were underway, though he did not indicate how many related to
7920-573: The New York State Board of Elections beginning in 2003. He worked 34 years in the field of election administration. The executive director position was created by HAVA § 204(a). The current Acting General Counsel is Amanda Joiner. Prior to her, the General Counsel was Kevin Rayburn. The previous General Counsel was Clifford Tatum, who served a four-year term (October 2015 to October 2019). The agency's first General Counsel, serving under
8064-427: The November 2020 election. Fann expressed confidence in Cyber Ninjas, asserting "they are working with a number of other contractors that have experience in audits and in their expertise in their own fields." The Arizona Republic had reported in June that none of the contractors involved in the audit were certified by the federal Election Assistance Commission , while two firms that had conducted forensic audits for
8208-434: The State Senate operating budget, while nearly $ 5.7 million was provided by five groups spearheaded by Trump supporters seeking to delegitimize the 2020 election results, including lawyer Sidney Powell , and the following other persons. Patrick Byrne , the former CEO of Overstock.com and promoter of 2020 election conspiracy theories, donated one million dollars to the effort and created a website to raise further funds, which
8352-405: The State and local level for developing or implementing written standards, against which voting system hardware and software could be evaluated." The U.S. Congress then directed the Federal Election Commission (FEC), in conjunction with the National Bureau of Standards to create engineering and procedural performance standards for voting systems. Another report, Voting System Standards: A Report on
8496-409: The Supreme Court, all of which were rejected. Trump pressured Republican officials in key states to block the certification of votes. Trump also pressured the Justice Department to challenge the election results. The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security found no evidence of significant election fraud. Trump's failed efforts preceded the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol . Trump
8640-471: The US Senate, and took office in February 2019. The Help America Vote Act specifies that four commissioners are nominated by the President on recommendations from the majority and minority leadership in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Once confirmed by the full Senate, commissioners may serve two consecutive terms and no more than two commissioners may belong to the same political party. The terms lasts for four years, but commissioners may continue serving after
8784-535: The United States Census Bureau in October 2015 and collected from 2009 to 2013, 73.7% of the population aged five years and over spoke only English at home, while 20.3% spoke Spanish, 0.6% spoke Chinese, 0.5% Vietnamese, 0.4% Tagalog , 0.4% Arabic, 0.4% German, 0.3% French, 0.3% Navajo , 0.2% Korean, 0.2% Hindi , 0.2% Italian, 0.1% Persian , 0.1% Russian, 0.1% Serbo-Croatian , 0.1% Telugu , 0.1% Polish, 0.1% Syriac , 0.1% Japanese, 0.1% spoke Romanian, and 0.1% spoke other Native North American languages at home. As of
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#17327867908328928-445: The United States. While the city of Phoenix has been evenly split between the two major parties, most of the rest of the county was strongly Republican . Until 2020 , every Republican presidential candidate since 1952 had carried Maricopa County. This includes the 1964 presidential run of native son Barry Goldwater , who would not have carried his own state had it not been for a 21,000-vote margin in Maricopa County. Until 2020, it
9072-439: The VVSG was approved in 2015. Voluntary Voting System Guidelines | The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) . A draft version of the 2007 VVSG was developed by the TGDC and NIST. It was not approved by the TGDC nor the EAC. The 2005 VVSG, which significantly increased security requirements for voting systems and expanded access, including opportunities to vote privately and independently, for individuals with disabilities,
9216-427: The allegations were actually due to the incompetence of the auditors and accused Fann of an "attempt at legitimatizing a grift disguised as an audit." Fann, however, continued to support the audit, and sent the Board of Supervisors a four-page letter stating that "serious issues" had arisen during the audit. Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward released multiple videos about the audit, in which she criticized
9360-438: The audit and, on July 26, she appeared on Special Report with Bret Baier on Fox News to falsely assert that Logan's analysis meant there were 275,000 "potential fraudulent ballots." On July 26, the Republican Senate issued new subpoenas for the envelopes bearing signatures for mail-in ballots, as well as for all routers, and passwords and log-in information for the ballot tabulation devices. County officials had previously told
9504-479: The audit results did not find proof of fraud to support allegations of a stolen election. The report did, however, identify several factors which the report characterized as anomalies. Maricopa County officials, including the Republican Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, criticized the report as "littered with errors & faulty conclusions". In his private text messages, Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan admitted that he could not make sense of his own numbers and described
9648-437: The audit, on May 9 Paul Boyer , a member of the Arizona State Senate Republican caucus, criticized the audit, saying "it makes us look like idiots." The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors , which is dominated by Republicans, also opposed the audit. On May 17, the board held a hearing and sent Fann a twelve-page letter to dispute her allegations of wrongdoing by county officials. Republican board chairman Jack Sellers stated that
9792-400: The audit. The agreement authorized Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to file suit against Cyber Ninjas for breach of contract if the company did not live up to the agreement. Former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett , a Republican, had been designated as the State Senate's liaison to the audit. On May 5, 2021, Hobbs sent a letter to Bennett, detailing additional concerns with
9936-435: The audit. The suspension was conditioned on the Arizona Senate Democrats posting a $ 1 million bond to cover the cost that the delay could cost the Arizona State Senate Republicans. But because the Arizona State Senate Democrats refused to post the bond, the suspension did not go into effect. By May 5, Arizona Senate Democrats reached a settlement with the Arizona Senate Republicans to allow independent elections experts to observe
10080-422: The auditors claimed they did not have enough information to complete their report, and requested that the Arizona Senate subpoena further records and survey tens of thousands voters at their residences. Logan said during the July 15 presentation that his assertions of a 74,243 mail-in ballot discrepancy, found to be incorrect, merited the household survey. Cyber Ninjas had in May agreed to not survey households, after
10224-459: The auditors considered their options for gaining access to the routers and passwords. Senate Republicans and the Board of Supervisors reached a settlement on September 17 in which the demand for routers, network logs and the voter registration database would be withdrawn in exchange for the Board dropping its effort to recoup from the auditors the $ 2.8 million that had been authorized to replace voting equipment that had been potentially compromised by
10368-424: The auditors had examined early versions of the data that the county had provided to political parties to aid their get-out-the-vote efforts, but those early versions were not intended to and did not reflect the final official tallies. Logan also noted about 168,000 ballots with faulty printing that caused the print on the front and back to be slightly misaligned, which he claimed could cause voters to cast ballots for
10512-458: The auditors that access to such equipment was unnecessary and posed a security threat, including possible access to sensitive information in the county sheriff's office. County supervisors and the election voting machine vendor, Dominion Voting Systems , refused to comply with most of the demands in the subpoenas days later, responding that much of the materials had already been provided under subpoenas months earlier. The supervisors also said some of
10656-493: The auditors. The County Board of Supervisors voted on July 14 to spend $ 2.8 million to replace voting equipment that the auditors had accessed. On June 2, Hobbs issued a report detailing observations made to that point by election observers from her office, alleging various infractions on the part of the auditors. These included leaving security gates open, leaving confidential materials unattended, and bringing "prohibited items including cellphones and pens with black or blue ink" to
10800-466: The auditors. The settlement called for a special master to arrange for an independent technology team to examine the routers and answer questions about how they were used in the 2020 election and how they will be used in future elections. The results of the examination, led by former Arizona Republican congressman John Shadegg , were released in March 2022, finding that the county's ballot tabulation system
10944-566: The ballots as a would-be Trump presidential elector as well as running for re-election to the Arizona House of Representatives, was subsequently removed from the group with access to the ballots. Former Republican Secretary of State Ken Bennett continued advising the audit, and Hobbs, the current Secretary of State, criticized Bennett's efforts, saying he needs to "either do it right, or don't do it at all." The audit has produced division among Arizona Republicans. After initially supporting
11088-435: The beginning of the audit, several concerns surfaced, including how the audit was being conducted, its legality, the conduct of auditors, and security issues at the site. The audit spawned interest in pursuing similar efforts in other states, causing the United States Department of Justice to warn Republican legislatures of potential violations of federal law . Conspiracy theory issues also arose as many commentators across
11232-411: The board consists of four Republicans and one Democrat. Each member serves a four-year term, with no term limits. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office provides court protection, administers the county jail, and patrols the unincorporated areas of the county plus incorporated towns by contract. For much of the time after World War II , Maricopa County was one of the more conservative urban counties in
11376-403: The claim. The county said that months before the election an individual had inappropriately downloaded publicly-available data from the county website; a forensic audit by two firms months before the election found the election management system was airgapped from the website and the internet. He then said the incidence of fraud and irregularities was many times more than would be needed to change
11520-419: The claims that Trump had won the election in Arizona as well as nationally, extensively promoted the audit on social media . The audit began on April 22, 2021, and was expected to last 60 days. That day, Arizona Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit to stop the audit. The next day Judge Christopher Coury agreed to suspend the audit for three days until the contractors presented documentation on how they would conduct
11664-436: The company and Trump or his allies, as well as information on who was funding the audit. The next day, a Maricopa County judge ruled that all information relating to the audit were public records, including communications between the audit participants and information about who was financing the audit, rejecting an argument by Senate Republicans that information held by Cyber Ninjas and other private contractors were not subject to
11808-489: The counting floor. In particular, black and blue ink pens are prohibited because they can be used to modify ballots that were cast. The objectivity of the audit has been called into question due to the involvement of Logan. Additionally, Anthony Kern , a former Republican state lawmaker who was present at the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol , was seen tallying votes. Kern, who was himself named on
11952-404: The county Elections Department and Recorder's office released a preliminary "top line" analysis of the auditor's report, finding it repeatedly made faulty claims. The preliminary analysis was to be followed by a deeper analysis. Maricopa County, Arizona Maricopa County ( / ˌ m ær ɪ ˈ k oʊ p ə / ) is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona . As of
12096-401: The county before the election were certified. In late July, Bennett confirmed that he was being shut out of the auditors' second ballot count because he questioned the lack of transparency in the processes being used, which he characterized as "hide-the-ball-from-me stuff". He said he believed an independent group should have conducted the second count after the auditors' first count did not match
12240-760: The county is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ( PHX ). Other airports located in the county include: In terms of freight rail, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad serve the county. In terms of passenger rail, greater Phoenix is served by a light rail system . The county has no other passenger rail transport as Amtrak 's Sunset Limited , which served Phoenix until June 2, 1996, has its closest stop in Maricopa in neighboring Pinal County . The train connects Maricopa to Tucson , Los Angeles , and New Orleans three times
12384-469: The county might need to expend significant funds and time to ensure the equipment would meet federal, state and local requirements for certifying and protecting election equipment. Hobbs, the Secretary of State, later informed the Board of Supervisors that election technology and security experts, including at the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), unanimously advised her that
12528-425: The county were not cast solely through mail-in ballots, but that some early votes were cast at in-person voting centers. The in-person early votes would not see a record of being mailed to voters, since those ballots were provided directly at the in-person voting centers, rather than being sent to voters by mail. Tammy Patrick, who had been a federal compliance officer for Maricopa County elections for eleven years, said
12672-450: The county, and five of the districts have their population center located there. Most of the state's prominent elected officials live in the county. Further underlining Maricopa County's political dominance, Biden's margin of 45,109 votes was more than enough to carry the state; he only won Arizona by 10,457 votes. The 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th districts are all centered in Maricopa County. The 2nd and 9th are centered in rural Arizona, while
12816-401: The county. The population density was 414.9/sq mi (160.2/km ). The 1,639,279 housing units averaged 178.2/sq mi (68.8/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 73.0% white (58.7% non-Hispanic white), 5.0% African American, 3.5% Asian, 2.1% American Indian, 0.2% Pacific islander, 12.8% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 29.6% of
12960-589: The county. This makes Maricopa County the third county in American history to cast more than one million votes for a presidential candidate. The county is also a statewide bellwether, voting for the statewide winning candidate in all elections except 1996. Despite its consistent Republican allegiance since 1952, its fast-growing Hispanic population and influx of conservative retirees and Mormons , which were traditionally conservative voting blocs but were increasingly skeptical of President Donald Trump , signaled that it
13104-452: The curing process, a ballot may be recorded as received by mail more than once, but it is counted as a vote only once. Ayyadurai's analysis was mischaracterized on social media and alternative news sites as having found 17,322 duplicate ballots. Auditors said they found 5,047 Arizona voters with the same names and birth years who potentially voted twice, including in Maricopa County. County officials countered that matching names and birth years
13248-470: The data as "deleted", without evidence, during a Senate hearing, Fann said she stood by that characterization but said she would not refer the matter to law enforcement because "we never said there was any wrongdoing." Richer stated, having previously received threats from individuals, that threats against him multiplied after he pushed back on the false election fraud claims amplified by former Trump and Fann. One such threat resulted in federal charges against
13392-400: The departure of Ryan Macias, the acting director of election testing and certification, as well as his predecessor, Brian Hancock. These departures "knocked the wind out of the technical sails of the EAC," said an anonymous voting security researcher. Exacerbating the situation was the reporter's speculation of the partisan nature of Newby's hiring, with the article labeling him a Republican and
13536-465: The duplication process was accurate, pointing to a court case that affirmed the process that was used. An edited version of the report, which stated: "The election should not be certified, and the reported results are not reliable", was spread by QAnon and The Gateway Pundit , the latter of which baselessly claimed that the Arizona State Senate had pressured for the above line to be removed. Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan has said that this edited report "is
13680-476: The election , and due to assertions of rule violations and irregularities in the conduct of the recount, leading to claims that the audit was essentially a disinformation campaign. In June 2021, Maggie Haberman of The New York Times and Charles Cooke of National Review reported that Trump had told associates that based on the results of the audit, he would be reinstated as president in August 2021. From
13824-412: The election outcome, though the number of identified potential fraud cases was far smaller than Biden's margin of victory. Trump echoed a claim Logan had made, stating "11,000 voters were added to the voter rolls AFTER the election and still voted," though this was explained by voters casting provisional ballots and later being added to the rolls after their eligibility to vote was confirmed. On July 16,
13968-548: The expiration of their term term until their successor has taken office. The Commission selects a chair and vice chair from among its members for a term of one year. The chair and vice chair may not be affiliated with the same political party. A member of the Commission can only serve one term as chair and vice chair each during each of their terms as members. The current commissioners as of September 21, 2024: Former commissioners include: The current Executive Director of
14112-723: The federal Election Assistance Commission had found no irregularities. At the State Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on December 14, 2020, the Republican Chairman of Maricopa County's Board of Supervisors testified with the County's Elections Director and state officials from the Attorney General's Election Integrity Unit. They all testified there was no evidence that Joe Biden’s win was achieved by fraud, manipulation or tampering. The County's Elections Director further noted that
14256-421: The findings. He falsely claimed the 168,000 ballots Logan had identified had been printed on illegal paper and were unofficial. He also characterized as "magically appearing ballots" the 74,243 mail-in ballot discrepancy that Logan had incorrectly found. Trump asserted that "all the access logs to the machines were wiped, and the election server was hacked during the election", though there was no evidence to support
14400-689: The hearing, Logan incorrectly asserted the county had 74,243 "mail-in ballots" that had no record of being sent to voters, though he acknowledged the discrepancy could have been caused by record keeping errors. The incorrect information was quickly repeated by lawmakers and Republican commentators, echoing a similar false claim that had been made in Pennsylvania soon after the election. County officials and election experts said Cyber Ninjas had misinterpreted data files when examining mail-in ballot figures, leading to an incorrect conclusion. County officials said Logan did not appear to understand that early votes in
14544-414: The incorrect claim that files had been deleted, which Gates clarified was actually due to auditors looking in the wrong place for the files. Republican committee member Andy Biggs of Arizona falsely stated "we don't know" who won the presidential vote in Arizona. Logan had stated that his audit could not conclude if there was fraud in the mail-in ballots, just that it was "highly suspicious." On October 8,
14688-422: The initial draft guidelines are authored, they are sent to the EAC for review and revision and then released for public comment. Comments are reviewed and considered by the EAC in consultation with NIST in development of the final release. In 2007, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen decertified four electronic voting systems , three of which were conditionally recertified, after a "top-to-bottom review" of
14832-444: The internet during the election, though a county official said the auditors already had other means to perform that check. Independent forensic audits before and after the election found the system was not connected to the Internet, and county officials said it never had been. Sellers said it might cost as much as $ 6 million if the county had to replace the routers because their integrity could no be longer assured after they were given to
14976-406: The machines should not be reused in future elections because no methods exist to adequately secure them. The auditors also requested the county provide network routers , though election security experts said this presented a security threat and there was no evident reason the auditors needed them. Bennett said auditors needed the routers to see if the election management system (EMS) was connected to
15120-488: The official results. He added he had "indirectly...allowed some information that was supposed to be private to get out," referring to partial ballot count data given to an outside election auditing firm which found the Cyber Ninjas second count was a 99.9% match with the official count. The CEO of the outside firm said that if the difference was extrapolated to all 2.1 million ballots, the count would differ by 124 votes. Trump chief spokesperson Liz Harrington often tweeted about
15264-413: The original target date. Consequently, the audit went on hiatus on May 14 and resumed on May 24. Karen Fann made an allegation, later amplified by Trump in a May 15 post on his blog, asserting that Maricopa County election officials deleted the voting database after the election. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican who oversees elections, tweeted that Trump's post was "unhinged", noting he
15408-435: The origins of national voting certification and testing, the FEC's Office of Election Administration and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) updated the initial Voting System Standards with the 2002 Voting System Standards/Guidelines . The national testing effort was overseen by NASED’s Voting Systems Board, which is composed of election officials and independent technical advisors. NASED established
15552-476: The peace, and clerk of the Superior Court are elected by the people. Retention of Superior Court judges is also determined by popular vote. The county's dominant political figure for over two decades (from 1993 to 2017) was Sheriff Joe Arpaio , who called himself "America's Toughest Sheriff" and gained national notoriety for his flamboyant and often controversial practices and policies. Maricopa County
15696-477: The population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African-American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information. In 2014, the county had 1,177 religious organizations, the fifth most out of all US counties. The governing body of Maricopa County is its board of supervisors. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors consists of five members chosen by popular vote within their own districts. As of 2023
15840-406: The population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. About 19.1% reported speaking Spanish at home. Of the 1,132,886 households, 33.0% had children under 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were not families. About 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who
15984-399: The population. The largest ancestry groups were: Of the 1,411,583 households, 35.1% had children under 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.9% were not families, and 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.25. The median age
16128-577: The presidential election had been stolen from Trump. As part of the audit, auditors looked for secret watermarks , machine-markings, and bamboo fibers within the ballots. The testing for bamboo fibers was proposed by J. Hutton Pulitzer , who claimed without any proof and any elections-related experience that his invented equipment called Kinematic Artifact Testing could prove or refute a conspiracy theory that counterfeit ballots were shipped from South Korea or mainland China. Congressman Gosar 's top attorney staffer Tom Van Flien, among others associated with
16272-471: The previous official certified count. On July 1, 2021, KTVK reported that a former employee of the audit had spoken with them and claimed that the audit organizers had, for weeks, ignored sexual harassment complaints from her and several other employees, allowing recurrent incidents of harassment to persist. The employee provided the outlet with statements from seven witnesses and alleged victims who corroborated her account. Released on September 24, 2021,
16416-495: The program is to independently verify that voting systems comply with the functional capabilities, accessibility, and security requirements necessary to ensure the integrity and reliability of voting system operation, as established in the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). With this program the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will recommend labs for accreditation through its National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). The VVSG provide
16560-556: The report as "screwy". The audit's report found that the auditors' ballot recount increased Biden's margin of victory by 360 votes compared to the official count. Cyber Ninjas asserted they found problems with election conduct and alleged widespread anomalies in the election count that set the result in doubt. The report called into question a total of 53,305 ballots for varying reasons, though it noted multiple times there could be legitimate explanations for discrepancies. The auditors misleadingly stated that voting data had been deleted from
16704-411: The report from the audit would show that Biden had indeed won the county. The New York Times has reported that draft versions of the report it had seen showed Biden to have won slightly more votes and Trump to have won slightly fewer than the official count had. Many commentators across the political spectrum characterized the effort as a sham or "fraudit" that was an element of the false claim that
16848-482: The requested materials were held in the Recorder's office, which was not named in the subpoenas. The demand for routers was again flatly denied on security concerns. The supervisors noted the subpoenas had not been authorized by a Senate vote, while Dominion asserted the subpoena it received demanded information the company did not have and that it would take Cyber Ninjas to court to protect its proprietary rights. Fann responded she would grant more time for compliance while
16992-405: The same political party. (see a full list of Executive Board members ) The EAC Board of Advisors was established under title II section 211 of HAVA. Like those of the Standards Board, the Board of Advisors' duties include reviewing the voluntary voting systems guidelines and review of the best practices recommendations. The Board consists of appointed members. Two members being appointed by each of
17136-495: The state and do not have charters of their own. The county Board of Supervisors acts under powers delegated by state law, mainly related to minor ordinances and revenue collection. With few exceptions, these powers are narrowly construed. The chairperson of the board presides for a one-year term, selected by the board members during a public hearing. The county sheriff, county attorney, county assessor, county treasurer, superintendent of schools, county recorder, constables, justices of
17280-534: The state's melon , okra , and bell pepper are also grown here. Almost all the apricot , freestone peach , persimmon , and nectarine in the state are grown here. The county also ties for the highest amount of cling peach with Cochise , along with Pima produces almost all the pomegranate , and grows most of the kumquat . Maricopa's farms grow a middling amount of fig , grape ( Vitis spp. including V. vinifera ), and pear ( Pyrus spp.) other than Bartlett . A small amount of plum
17424-411: The state, including far more cabbage , collards , and mustard greens , and far more eggplant and greenhouse production of tomato . Slightly more kale is grown here than Yavapai , and a close second to Yuma for broccoli , cauliflower , and spinach , and to Yavapai for field tomato . The county is top for parsley and is tied with Pima for other fresh herbs . Some of
17568-418: The tabulators, but the test vote was found to be accurate. The county said it used 80lb Vote Secure paper for all mail-in and in-person ballots and, before the election, said it would provide polling places with fine-tipped Sharpies because they had the fastest-drying ink to minimize smudged ballots. Logan acknowledged the matter required further analysis, though election experts said bleed-through does not affect
17712-692: The vote count because of printing alignment issues, and a bipartisan process had been in place to flag and examine unreadable ballots. Logan also claimed to have an affidavit asserting that signature verification standards had been progressively relaxed during the election until "they were just told to let every single mail-in ballot through," which Republican county recorder Stephen Richer strongly denied. Neither county officials nor Arizona Senate Democrats were permitted to participate in Logan's presentation. Soon after Logan's presentation, Trump released three statements in which he made multiple false assertions regarding
17856-649: The vote-counting machines aced every test. On March 31, 2021, the Arizona Senate Republican caucus, led by Senate President Karen Fann , hired four firms to examine the ballots in Maricopa County in the races for President and for the United States Senate , with Florida -based company Cyber Ninjas being the lead firm. Cyber Ninjas' owner, Doug Logan, is a Trump supporter and a proponent of Trump's claims of voter fraud. The process involved an audit to search for evidence of fraud, and
18000-633: The voting machines certified for use in California in March 2007. A new version of the VVSG was approved for adoption in February 2021. The VVSG 2.0 represents a significant advancement in defining standards that improves cybersecurity, accessibility, and usability requirements, while also introducing various audit methods supporting software independence to confirm the accuracy of the vote and increase voter confidence. Voting System Guidelines | The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) A new version of
18144-412: The way the audit was being conducted. Her letter cited the audit's disclosed procedures (departures from and ignorance of best practices for hand recounts) and the reports of the observers sent from the Secretary of State's office (including sloppy handling of ballots). A response from the audit's official Twitter account asserted that Hobbs's allegations were "baseless claimes [ sic ]." Also on May 5,
18288-413: The wrong candidate if voting machine ink bleeds through the ballot, or if a Sharpie marker is used. He said the voting machines used "a lot of very thin paper stock", though the paper was among the types recommended by the vendor of the voting machines that print completed ballots. An independent audit months before the election ran 1.5 million test ballots through the voting machines; two ballots jammed in
18432-429: Was 34.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 55,054 and the median income for a family was $ 65,438. Males had a median income of $ 45,799 versus $ 37,601 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 27,816. About 10.0% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over. According to data provided by
18576-407: Was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.67, and the average family size was 3.21. The age distribution in the county was 27.0% under 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.10 males. The median income for
18720-412: Was a crucial bellwether in the 2020 election. Despite its political leanings at the time, Maricopa County voted against Proposition 107 in the 2006 election. This referendum, designed to ban gay marriage and restrict domestic partner benefits, was rejected by a 51.6–48.4% margin within the county, and statewide by a similar margin. Two years later, however, a majority of county residents voted to pass
18864-558: Was any political pressure. Tova Wang, a consultant to the Commission, wrote a detailed account in The Washington Post about how her research and that of her Republican co-author had been disregarded or altered by the EAC, to produce a published report "that completely stood our own work on its head." The changes included exaggerating the purported voter fraud issue and omitting references to charges of voter intimidation lodged by Democrats, as well as removing all criticisms of
19008-606: Was established under title II section 211 of HAVA. Its duties include reviewing the voluntary voting systems guidelines and review of the best practices recommendations. The Board consists of 110 members, 55 State election officials and 55 local election officials. The Board adopts resolutions and makes recommendations by simple majority vote. (see a full list of Standards Board members ) The Board selects nine of its members as an Executive Board of whom, no more than five may be State election officials; no more than five may be local election officials; and no more than five may be members of
19152-628: Was formed with General Accounting Office ’s Office of Federal Elections (predecessor to the Federal Election Commission ) and the National Bureau of Standards (predecessor to the National Institute of Standards and Technology ) resulting in a March 1975 report, Effective Use of Computing Technology in Vote-Tallying , authored by Roy Saltman . This report highlighted "the lack of appropriate technical skills at
19296-615: Was interviewing Doug Logan, Oltmann admitted to being the person who released the edited version of the report. The United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing on the audit on October 7, 2021. Logan had declined an invitation to attend; in her September letter inviting him, committee chairwoman Carolyn Maloney wrote she had not received the Cyber Ninjas documents she had requested from him in July. Bennett, Sellers and Gates attended. In his testimony, Bennett stated that auditors found several areas where election laws or procedures "were or may have been" violated. He repeated
19440-462: Was looking at the database on his computer at that moment. Richer added, "We can't indulge these insane lies any longer." The auditors later acknowledged they had been examining hard drives the wrong way and the database had not been deleted, though the CEO of a Cyber Ninjas subcontractor, Ben Cotton, later said he was "able to recover all of those deleted files." After he continued to repeatedly characterize
19584-423: Was never connected to the internet or any external devices. The team found there were actually no routers involved that required inspection and there was no evidence any data had been deleted or tampered with. On July 27, Twitter suspended the audit's official account for violating rules regarding platform manipulation and spam. Cyber Ninjas released a summary of its major donors on July 28, indicating $ 5.7 million
19728-605: Was no violation, since the Senate lacked the power of enforcement when not in legislative session. Concurrently, on August 3, a county judge enforced a previous ruling from July wherein he rejected the argument from Senate Republicans that they were immune from suits to release their audit records, ordering the records released immediately; the order was expected to be appealed to a higher court. On August 25, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah ordered Cyber Ninjas to preserve all records of their audit for later public release. On September 23, 2021, Maricopa County claimed that
19872-410: Was not unusual in a state with 7 million residents. Cyber Ninjas identified as a "critical" issue that 23,344 voters had their ballots mailed to old addresses. The county responded there were numerous legal reasons for this, including that the voter served in the military, had recently moved but not yet updated their driver license address, or had requested a one-time temporary address. The auditors used
20016-611: Was only the second Republican presidential nominee to lose Arizona since 1948, losing the state by 10,400 votes. This was due almost entirely to Biden carrying Maricopa County, by far the state's largest county (it has over 61 percent of the state's population) by 45,000 votes, the first time a Republican had lost the county in 72 years. After the Associated Press and Fox News declared Biden the winner in Arizona as ballot counting continued, Trump and Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward sought to intervene, with Ward sending
20160-434: Was promoted by former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn . The fundraising was conducted through a 501(c)(4) organization , a tax code provision intended primarily for the promotion of social welfare. One America News Network (OANN) personalities also created a dark money organization to raise funds, while providing extensive coverage of the audit that drew praise from Trump. Senator Wendy Rogers , who supported
20304-503: Was raised from five groups associated with individuals who had cast doubt on the presidential election, including Byrne, Flynn, and Powell, as well as OANN personalities Chanel Rion and Christina Bobb . Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich stated that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors violated state law by not complying with election audit subpoena. The Maricopa Board of Supervisors, in response, said that there
20448-524: Was the largest county in the country to vote Republican. From 1968 to 2016 , Democrats held the margin within single digits only three times–in 1992 , 1996 , and 2016. In 2020, Joe Biden became the first Democrat in 72 years to win the county, which flipped Arizona to the Democratic column for the first time since 1996 and only the second time since 1948 . Furthermore, Biden became the first presidential candidate to win more than one million votes in
20592-577: Was unanimously adopted by the EAC in December 2005; It was version of the federal certification standards. During the 90-day public comment period, EAC received more than 6,000 comments on the proposed guidelines. These comments and the proposed guidelines are available via the Kennesaw State University . The 2005 VVSG will go into effect 24 months after their final adoption (December 2007). In February 1975 an interagency agreement
20736-662: Was without any Commissioners by 2011 after the resignation of Davidson. Bills were subsequently drafted to end the Commission. Specifically, Representative Gregg Harper introduced a bill to windup the EAC and transfer some of its functions to the Federal Election Commission . The EAC did not regain a quorum until December 16, 2014, when the U.S. Senate confirmed three Commissioners, Thomas Hicks , Matthew V. Masterson , and Christy McCormick . Masterson resigned in 2018; and on January 2, 2019, President Donald Trump's nominees, Benjamin Hovland and Donald Palmer , were confirmed by
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