by Corinne Murdock | Sep 25, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Friday afternoon, the Arizona Senate hosted a presentation on the audit of Maricopa County’s 2020 election. The audit presented dual outcomes: while the final hand count matched the county’s official machine count, the audit also discovered several issues that compelled the senate to request further investigation from Attorney General Mark Brnovich.
Arizona Senate Republicans published a complete collection of the audit report and related documents. In response to the claims, Maricopa County tweeted threads with rebuttal information and statements.
The audit presentation began with Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai, who runs the artificial intelligence-focused company EchoMail and was contracted to review ballot envelope images.
He gave a separate review on the Early Voting Ballots (EVBs), which totaled around 1.92 million votes. Some of the key findings Ayyadurai presented were that he allegedly found over 17,000 duplicate ballots. He also claimed that 95 percent of mail-in ballots received by Maricopa County before election day had legible signatures, but then after election day only 5 percent of mail-in ballots had legible signatures.
Ayyadurai emphasized that his data analysis didn’t do signature matching.
Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan and digital security firm CyFIR presented their findings on the county’s voter histories, ballots, certified results, and the voting machines. Some of the key findings from Cyber Ninjas included: none of the numbers from election-related systems matched, just under 28,000 ballots were possibly cast by voters who’d moved prior to the election, files were missing from the Election Management System (EMS) Server, over 284,000 EMS ballot images were corrupt or missing, logs appeared to be intentionally rolled over, election data was wiped from the database, cybersecurity best practices weren’t followed, and software and patch protocols weren’t followed.
The senate’s liaison to the audit, Ken Bennett, issued his own report of the county’s compliance with election laws and procedures. He highlighted the following as issues, some of which overlapped those presented by Ayyadurai, Cyber Ninjas, and CyFIR: missing signatures of ballot envelope affidavits, original and duplicate ballots without matching serial numbers, missing chain of custody records, shared usernames and passwords for election computers, missing serial numbers on electronically adjudicated ballots, and the possibility of ineligible voters.
Maricopa County responded to the audit findings at length in Twitter postings. For clarity’s sake, their remarks are reproduced in one compiled statement below: (also included are the original links to prior posts linked by the county)
CLAIM: 23,344 mail-in ballots voted from a prior address. BOTTOM LINE: Cyber Ninjas still don’t understand this is legal under federal election law. To label it a “critical” concern is either intentionally misleading or staggeringly ignorant. AZ senators should know this too. EXPLANATION: 1) Military and overseas voters can cast a “federal only ballot” despite living outside the U.S. The address tied to their ballot would be their prior address in AZ. 2) People are allowed to move from one house to another (or even one state to another) in October and November of an election year (yes, shocking!). If the driver’s license address matches the voter registration address, they are still allowed to vote. 3) For the November General Election Maricopa County had 20,933 one-time temporary address requests. In addition, snowbirds and college students tend to have forwarding addresses when they are out of the county. 4) Mail-in ballots are not forwarded to another address.
CLAIM: 10,342 potential voters that voted in multiple counties. BOTTOM LINE: There are more than 7 million people in Arizona and, yes, some of them share names & birth years. To identify this as a critical issue is laughable. EXPLANATION: 10,000+ votes in multiple counties is unlikely. More likely: different people, same name. Example: if you search for Maria Garcia born in 1980, you’ll get 7 active voters in Maricopa County and 12 statewide. And that’s just one name. If Cyber Ninjas understood data analysis, they would have performed standard processes to rule out situations that lead to faulty conclusions.
CLAIM: 9,041 more ballots returned by voters than received. BOTTOM LINE: This suggests a lack of understanding about how EV 33 files work. It’s not unusual for more ballots to be returned by voters than received. EXPLANATION: The majority of these involve cases where voters returned a ballot without a signature or with a signature discrepancy. In those cases, election staff contact the voter to ensure their vote counts. The most common reasons for a single voter having multiple entries in the EV 33 file are: a voter sent back an envelope unsigned[, or] there’s a signature discrepancy. A record for the original ballot is entered into the EV 33 file (where we track returned ballots). A second entry is recorded when a ballot envelope is signed or the signature discrepancy is resolved. The appropriate conclusion to draw from this finding is that the early voting team was performing their statutory-required responsibility by reviewing signatures on all returned mail-in ballots. […]
CLAIM: Election management database purged. BOTTOM LINE: This is misleading. Nothing was purged. Cyber Ninjas don’t understand the business of elections. We can’t keep everything on the EMS server because it has storage limits. We have data archival procedures for our elections and @MaricopaVote archived everything related to the November election on backup drives. So everything still exists. EXPLANATION: The Election Management System (EMS) database does not store election information forever. That’s what archives are for. The Feb 2nd activity referenced in the report was simply standard practice in the data archival process. The EMS server needed to be readied so our certified auditors could test the equipment for accuracy. The Senate never subpoenaed our archives.
CLAIM: Election files deleted. BOTTOM LINE: This is misleading. As stated above, servers have space limitations. Files are not deleted; they are archived. The Senate never subpoenaed our EMS archives.
CLAIM: 263,139 corrupt ballot images on the county’s EMS server. BOTTOM LINE: This is inaccurate. The server isn’t the place to find all ballot images. We provided the hard drives that contain all ballot images and confirmed these images were not corrupted and could be opened. BACKGROUND: These claims of “deleting” and “purging” are reminiscent of the false claim Cyber Ninjas made in May, accusing Maricopa County of deleting an election server. The truth was, the Ninjas looked in the wrong place for the info. It was there all along. They just didn’t know how to correctly set up a RAID server. Despite falsely [accusing] us of a crime, Senate contractors have never issued a
retraction or an apology. A note on signature validation[:] we don’t “predict” signatures. We have trained staff looking at every signature. We do a complete signature analysis, the accuracy of which has been proven in court. See Ward v. Jackson. Special bipartisan election boards assist voters who may need assistance w/ signing affidavits. Often, in case of severe medical conditions such as stroke, people may only be able to make a small mark such as an X. Our boards visually affirm the marks are the voter’s correct sig[nature.]
Re: duplicated ballots. Every time a voter has a questioned signature or a blank envelope, we work with that voter to cure the signature. That’s our staff doing their job to contact voters with questioned signatures or blank ballots. Only one ballot is counted.
So why more cured signatures in Nov. 2020? Maricopa County hired additional staff to contact valid voters and allow them the opportunity to cure their signature. That included a night shift of 40 people from Oct. 29- Nov. 10. [By the way], by law, you can cure signatures 5 business days after the election. Maricopa County is committed to following state law and helping people vote. [Fann’s] statement that we just stopped checking signatures is absolutely false. The Senate has determined the County is in full compliance w/ subpoena w/ the hiring of a special master. The County Ballot-on-Demand Printers (Poll Worker Laptop) and Accessible Voting Devices (ICX) were never subpoenaed. If they didn’t ask for it, we didn’t provide it.
[CLAIM:] official results [do] not match who voted: state statute requires that we keep addresses for certain voters protected. Election professionals know that these are not included in the VM 55 voted file. Experienced election auditors would know this too.
CLAIM: 2,382 in person voters who had moved out of Maricopa County. BOTTOM LINE: In the limited time since receiving this report, we have completed spot checks on the voter IDs provided. In the case of in-person voters who had moved out of Maricopa County, we found no discrepancies with the data in the Maricopa County voter reg[istration] system. We could not identify a single voter in this initial review who had cast more than 1 ballot.
CLAIM: 2,081 voters moved out-of-state proceeding election… and this is cause for concern. BOTTOM LINE: We performed a spot check using voter registration numbers that were associated with Cyber Ninjas’ conclusion. No discrepancies were found. Ben Cotton cannot tell you about the internet connection but we can. The tabulation equipment was never connected to a router or the internet. 2 audits confirmed this. We’ve already answered the password question[.] Only staff members who have a direct responsibility are provided access. The tabulation center is monitored by cameras 24 hours a day and seven days a week. We also use a series of passwords that provide different levels of access to tabulation systems and equipment. To access each tabulator, an operator needs a series of two passwords and a security token (key). Prior to each election, we change the password that is used to access the election program and to tabulate ballots.
[CLAIM:] we were intentionally overriding logs is disingenuous. This is part of normal Windows configuration (first in, first out). Maricopa County strongly denies claims that @maricopavote staff intentionally deleted data. As we’ve stated, staff were conducting the March election & compiling info required to comply w/ Senate subpoena. We have backups for all Nov. data & those archives were never subpoenaed. Reminder from Cyber Ninjas themselves: the tabulation equipment did its job and the certified canvass results match closely what #azaudit found on the paper ballots. Per Chairman @jacksellers earlier statement, “everything else is noise.” Despite what Cotton is saying right now, none of this matters on an air gapped network. REWEB1601 (as you might gather from the naming convention) connects to the internet because it is the server for /recorder.maricopa.gov. This is not the election system. We shouldn’t have to explain this.
Re: duplication process. This has already been decided in court in Ward v. Jackson. An excerpt: “These ballots were admitted at trial and the Court heard testimony about them & reviewed them. None of them shows an abuse of discretion on the part of the reviewer. Every one of them listed a phone number that matched a phone number already on file, either through voter registration records or from a prior ballot. The evidence does not show that these affidavits are fraudulent, or that someone other than the voter signed them. There is no evidence that the manner in which signatures were reviewed was designed to benefit one candidate or another, or that there was any misconduct, impropriety, or violation of Arizona law with respect to the review of mail-in ballots.”
In a letter submitted to Brnovich, Fann reiterated that the final audit hand count aligned with the county machine count and called it the “most important and encouraging finding of the audit.”
She noted that Cyber Ninjas spent over 100,000 hours and millions of dollars to complete this audit.
“In the history of democracies – from ancient Athens to today – ours was the most detailed, demanding, and uncompromising election audit that has ever been conducted,” said Fann. “Arizona voters had serious concerns about their election, and they were entitled to the most careful and accurate answers possible. […] The paper ballots in Maricopa County are the best evidence of voter intent because they are under 24-hour video surveillance and physical security, and there is no reliable evidence that they were altered to any material degree. This finding therefore addresses the sharpest concerns about the integrity of the certified results in the 2020 general election.”
Fann also classified several of the findings as concerning. She said that certain issues presented in the audit report needed improvement: the signature verification process for absentee ballots required improvement and additional testing, the voter rolls required better maintenance, the election technology and machinery required more professional management and oversight with better cybersecurity precautions, the counties should be required to have administrator passwords for vote-counting machines rather than a private company, and that evidence is preserved post-election (in reference to the activity log overwrite).
https://twitter.com/AZSenateGOP/status/1441495494358827011
In a subsequent press release, Brnovich revealed that he will have his Election Integrity Unit (EIU) review the Senate’s audit. Until then, the attorney general said that he wouldn’t comment further on specific allegations until the EIU completes its review.
“I will take all necessary actions that are supported by the evidence and where I have legal authority,” stated Brnovich. “Arizonans deserve to have their votes accurately counted and protected.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Sep 24, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
During Tuesday’s city council meeting, the town of Gilbert declared that racism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, and discrimination perpetuate domestic violence. The proclamation came from Mayor Brigette Peterson while establishing this October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The entirety of the proclamation is reproduced below:
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH[:] WHEREAS, domestic violence is a serious crime affecting over 4 million Americans each year of all races, ages, gender, and income levels; and WHEREAS, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism and discrimination based on physical ability, nationality or other factors help to perpetuate domestic violence and make finding safety even more difficult for some victims; WHEREAS, in just one day, across the U.S. and its territories, nearly 75,000 victims of domestic violence sought services from domestic violence programs and shelters. That same day, more than 9,000 requests for services, including emergency shelter, housing, transportation, childcare and legal representation, could not be provided because programs lacked the resources to meet victims’ needs; and WHEREAS, domestic violence impacts millions of people each year, but it can be prevented. Preventing domestic violence requires the collective voice and power of individuals, families, institutions, and systems; and WHEREAS, Gilbert has dedicated Family Violence officers, Police Counselors and Victim Advocates saving lives every day; and WHEREAS, Gilbert joins with others across Arizona and the nation in supporting victims of domestic violence, as well as local programs, state coalitions, national organizations, and other agencies nationwide who are committed to increasing public awareness of domestic violence and sending a clear message to abusers that domestic violence is not tolerated in Gilbert; NOW THEREFORE, I, Brigette Peterson, Mayor of the Town of Gilbert, do hereby proclaim the month of October 2021 as: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH in Gilbert, Arizona and urge our citizens to work together to eliminate domestic violence from our community. In witness thereof, I hereby set my hand and affix the Official Seal of the Office of the Mayor, Town of Gilbert, Arizona, and this 21st day of September, 2021. (emphasis added)
It is unclear how racism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, and discrimination perpetuate domestic violence. AZ Free News requested Peterson to clarify why these four were linked to domestic violence. The mayor didn’t respond by press time.
Local and state governments have designated October as domestic violence awareness month since the 1980s.
The town of Gilbert has issued official statements condemning racism and generally notes its opposition to discrimination in any forms. It hasn’t issued any statements condemning transphobia, homophobia, or ageism.
The mayor’s stance against discrimination in any form apparently doesn’t align with her personal conduct. Last month, reports revealed that Peterson is facing a discrimination complaint from current employee. The employee, Derek Konofalski, claimed the mayor was exercising a personal vendetta against him because of her dislike for the town logo and him being part of the digital government team. The complaint tied in with other complaints against the mayor concerning ethics and conduct.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Terri Jo Neff | Sep 24, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Gov. Doug Ducey announced Thursday that Tracy Uffelman is the new director of the state’s beleaguered Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, just weeks before the entry period opens for the Arizona Liquor License Lottery which will facilitate more to-go liquor services.
“I am delighted to appoint Tracy as director, and look forward to working with him to best serve our businesses and constituents,” said Ducey, who highlighted Uffelman’s more than 50 years of liquor industry experience dating back to 1969 when he started as a wine merchandiser.
Over the years, Uffelman has held a variety of positions ranging from sales to management. He is also well-versed in the political end of the business, having served as vice president of legislative and community relations for Alliance Beverage, a company he worked at for 23 years.
“Our team will work hard to foster economic growth, expand opportunities for businesses of all sizes and Arizonans, and protect public safety,” Uffelman said of DLLC in a press release.
Ducey’s announcement comes more than five months after former Director John Cocca and Deputy Director Michael Rosenberger resigned following an internal affairs review into the handling of a complaint against a DLLC detective’s conduct during an undercover investigation at a Scottsdale strip club last year.
An 815-page report of the matter was released in July, detailing how DLLC’s investigators got involved in public health issues such as whether adult-oriented businesses that held liquor licenses were violating COVID-19 protocols.
After Cocca and Rosenberger quietly resigned in April, Ducey appointed Col. Heston Silbert as DLLC’s interim director since April. Silbert, the head of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, reported in June that DLLC is “significantly underfunded” for its mission and was experiencing several “administrative challenges.”
Uffelman Concerns about how Arizona’s liquor industry is being regulated and overseen does not end at just the department. It also reaches the State Liquor Board, which has authority to approve, deny, or revoke a liquor license.
Such decisions were determined at the Liquor Board’s June, August, and September meetings by three members, the only active members at that time despite the fact Arizona law calls for a seven-member board. A fourth member is now listed on the department’s website.
Board members are appointed by the Governor and then confirmed by the Senate, with each member serving a three-year term. State law also calls for five of the seven members to have no financial interest “directly or indirectly” in a business licensed to deal with spirituous liquors.
Currently only two of the four members -Chairman Troy Campbell and Member Janice Pernice- are listed as having no financial interest, while Vice Chair Lynn Shulman listed as a retailer and Member Matt Roemer is a wholesaler.
Attention must also be paid to the political affiliation of members as well as county of residence. Three of the four members listed on the website reside in Maricopa County, the limit under state law.
by Corinne Murdock | Sep 24, 2021 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
The Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) wasn’t strict with their mask mandate at a legal conference last week, despite their ongoing lawsuit against the state over its school mask mandate ban. Several days after the conference, ASBA pushed for the right of schools to mandate masks in the ongoing court case, Arizona School Boards Association, et al. v. State of Arizona.
The pictures posted by ASBA show both posed and candid pictures of attendees maskless. ASBA Executive Director Sheila Harrison-Williams and Assistant Director Chris Thomas both took off their masks to smile for a picture, huddling in with fellow colleagues and conference attendees. ASBA spokesperson Heidi Vega explained to AZ Free News that they asked attendees to remove their masks to pose for a photo op.
Vega clarified that the conference did have a mask mandate in place, but admitted it was loosely enforced. Vega noted that anytime conference organizers were in front of a microphone, they reminded attendees to mask up.
“We can’t mandate every person. We would remind them to wear a mask,” stated Vega. “They are all different districts of different people on all different sides with different beliefs across the state.”
In ASBA’s lawsuit, they’ve argued that the health and safety necessitates local governments to impose mandates where they see fit. Governor Doug Ducey signed the mask mandate ban into law several months ago.
“ASBA believes the question of whether to require masks should be left to school boards who know their communities best,” asserted ASBA. “School boards are elected officials that are elected by their constituents and should be able to decide local control issues for those communities they represent.”
ASBA’s lax masking requirements for themselves while advocating for school mask mandates is similar to another recent controversy with Arizona’s education leadership. As AZ Free News reported last month, Arizona Superintendent Kathy Hoffman was maskless and not social distancing at a baby shower. Like ASBA, Hoffman has expressed her disapproval of Ducey’s mask mandate ban.
“We know masks work and, with rising cases, they’re a vital part of our effort to reduce everyone’s COVID-19 risks,” wrote Hoffman. “I encourage teachers, administrators, and families to listen to the CDC and take individual action to keep themselves and each other safe by wearing a mask during in-person school. Students, teachers, and parents are ready to get back to in-person learning, but it takes all of us.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Terri Jo Neff | Sep 23, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
The fiery Aug. 15 explosion of a Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline which killed two members of Coolidge family and severely burned another ejected a 46-foot section of the pipeline and left a massive crater, according to a preliminary report issued Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The rupture of the 30-inch diameter transmission pipeline, known as Line 2000, occurred around 5:30 a.m., sending the ejected pipeline nearly 130 feet away into a field. The subsequent fireball destroyed the home of Luiz and Rosalita Alvarez and was visible for miles, including Casa Grande.
Emergency responders found Luiz and the couple’s 14-year-old daughter Valeria deceased in the house. Rosalita was found nearby with multiple injuries.
According to the report, it took Kinder Morgan personnel one hour to locate and manually shut off the pipeline’s nearest downstream valve. The fire, however, was not extinguished until shortly after 8 a.m. when the nearest upstream valve was finally isolated, the report states.
The investigation to date found that Line 2000 was installed in 1985 to transport crude oil. It was converted for the transmission of natural gas around 2005 when operated by El Paso Natural Gas. Houston-based Kinder Morgan acquired the line in 2012.
The continuing investigation will focus on metallurgical analysis and testing of the ruptured pipeline as well as adjacent sections of pipe which were not damaged. In addition, investigators will look into causal factors and pipeline safety.
Assisting NTSB in this matter are Kinder Morgan, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Arizona Corporation Commission, the Pinal County Fire Investigation Taskforce, and the Coolidge Police Department.
The NTSB is an independent federal agency responsible for determining the probable cause for pipeline incidents, as well as civil aviation, railroad, highway, and marine accidents. NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson has said a final report about the incident could take 12 to 24 months to complete.
by Corinne Murdock | Sep 22, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Chucri resigned after admitting in a leaked audio recording that Maricopa County election officials privately shared their constituents’ concerns over the 2020 election. Specifically, Chucri said he and the other election officials doubted the validity of their hand-count audit, as well as the security of Dominion Voting Machines.
According to Chucri, other board members reportedly knew the county audit wasn’t sufficient, but didn’t want to conduct a full-scale audit because they feared they’d actually lost their races. Instead, the county went ahead with an audit of only two percent of the vote. This totaled around 47,000 ballots out of nearly 2.1 million. With that, the board claimed that the sampling was sufficient to prove election integrity.
In another recording, Chucri questioned whether Dominion’s software had serious security issues. He said it was a “screw up” for Arizona to use Dominion after Texas rejected them due to critical security concerns.
According to Chucri, County Recorder Stephen Richer agreed with those concerns. However, Richer has asserted publicly that he’s never doubted the validity of Dominion’s election equipment.
Richer fired shots at Dominion doubters as recently as Tuesday afternoon. He remarked on a topic trending on Twitter at the time, “Dominion.”
“The world is learning it was all a lie done at the expense of a few private, job-producing, for-profit companies (something I thought we celebrated) and individuals who did nothing wrong,” wrote Richer. “Fortunately, @dominionvoting is going to bankrupt some liars as a result.”
After the audio recordings were leaked that depicted Richer as privately sharing county concerns over the Dominion software, he deleted the tweet.
In a letter explaining his resignation, Chucri chalked his remarks up to “turbulent times” and emphasized that they weren’t indicative of any wrongdoing or cover-up by the county regarding the 2020 election. His resignation will be effective November 5.
Unfortunately, the political landscape changed for the worse this year. The environment is wrought with toxicity – and all civility and decorum no longer seem to have a place. The fixation with the 2020 election results and aftermath have gotten out of control. In recent days it has come to light that I was secretly recorded in conversations regarding differences with some of my colleagues about an audit of the 2020 election. The comments I made were during a very turbulent time. My colleagues have every right to be both angry and disappointed with me. I should not have made such statements and offer my colleagues heartfelt apologies.
I do not want to perpetuate the very problem I ran to eliminate several years ago. While I have had my differences with my colleagues, I have known them to be good, honorable and ethical men. The picture some individuals are trying to paint about a cover-up, scam and other nonsense about my colleagues and myself is simply false. There was no cover-up, the election was not stolen. Biden won.
The leaked audio came from a March conversation between Chucri and We the People AZ Alliance, an activist election integrity group. Gateway Pundit obtained the audio recording. In it, Chucri admitted that those too concerned for their races to speak out against the audit were fellow supervisors Jack Sellers and Clint Hickman.
“[Hickman] wanted to have a conversation about an audit,” explained Chucri. “He just didn’t have the guts to do that at the end of last year, after I’d been asking for something.”
The woman asked if Hickman had his feelings hurt. Chucri said yes. He said it’s “just politics,” and agreed with the woman that Hickman needed to “suck it up.” Chucri said he regretted believing other supervisors when they claimed they were only capable of auditing two percent of the votes.
“This is a blood sport. [He said] I’m not going to kiss your a**, I’m not going to suck up for your vote – I want to earn your vote,” said Chucri. “Whereas those guys want to suck up and kiss up for your vote, and my biggest mistake […] was that I should’ve never believed what I was being told about ‘We couldn’t do more than two percent of an audit before we certified the election.’”
The election results for Chucri’s fellow board members support his remarks.
Sellers barely won his election – he received .08 percent more of the vote than his Democratic opponent, Deedra Abboud.
Chucri won comfortably, earning nearly 19 percent more of the vote than his opponent, Democrat Jevin Hodges. As did Hickman – he won by over 16 percent.
Although Supervisor Bill Gates’ win wasn’t as close as either Sellers’, his opponent only lost by less than two percent of the vote.
Chucri went on to say that he should’ve listened to Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) about that matter. Chucri admitted the county knew that they could’ve audited any percentage of the vote they desired.
“My biggest mistake was listening to that. I should’ve listened to Andy Biggs and I think even Brnovich said you could do 30 percent, you could do 60 percent,” said Chucri. “They went and screwed up there because I didn’t know about it until it was too late.”
Neither Hickman or Sellers responded to inquiries from AZ Free News by press time.
Maricopa County asserted in May that their audits were extensive enough to be considered accurate. They included a thread of 23 tweets with evidence that the Senate audit wasn’t being conducted with the protocols or professionalism of a true audit. Cyber Ninjas is the company contracted by the Senate to conduct the audit.
“Our elections were run w/ integrity, the results certified by the county & state were accurate, & the 2 independent audits conducted by the County are the true final word on the subject,” stated the county. “We know auditing. The Senate Cyber Ninja audit is not a real audit. #azsenateaudit[.]”
https://twitter.com/maricopacounty/status/1393273947513266177
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs retweeted the statement in agreement.
“Important thread from @maricopacounty,” wrote Hobbs.
https://twitter.com/katiehobbs/status/1393301623229882371
The Senate confirmed that their audit report of the Maricopa County elections will be published on Friday.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
