arizona audit updates

For Star subscribers: The Senate and contractor Cyber Ninjas have failed to comply with judge's orders that they produce public records about the election audit, court is told. The report is full of made-for-TV misleading numbers. Posted 2:16:21 PM. . Just over 1 percent of voters who cast a ballot in the 2020 elections may have moved since a figure well within the normal range of the share of people who change residences in a given year. In the weeks after Novembers election, a particularly bizarre conspiracy theory floated around Facebook and other social media networks: Arizona ballots cast with a Sharpie marker were allegedly disqualified. Lawyers representing governor candidate Kari Lake and secretary of state hopeful Mark Finchem filed a notice saying they would ask the 9th U.S. How The Republican Push To Restrict Voting Could Affect Our Elections Read more. House Revealing Weaponization Of Government! In Maricopa County, Joe Biden won the presidency by more than 45,000 votes. At the time Bennett questioned the transparency of cyber-ninjas, the group in charge of the operation. So, thats the reality.. The. Perp walks & prosecutions on the way! At the same time, some conspiracy theorists suggested that ballots had been imported from overseas. "The Board of Supervisors remains committed to free and fair elections that conform to federal and state laws.". PHOENIX Cyber Ninjas' nearly $6 million review of the 2020 election results did not find significant differences, says an unofficial draft report obtained Thursday evening by Capitol Media Services. In a 2012 municipal election in Palm Beach County, Florida, a post-election audit revealed a software error in the voting equipment in one city that mixed up the results between races, causing the wrong candidates to be declared winners. The Arizona Auditor General is seeking proposals for services of certified public accounting firms to perform annual financial statement and compliance audits and annual expenditure limitation report examinations for each of the following auditees: Yavapai County, Gila County Provisional Community College District, Graham County Community College District, and Santa Cruz County Provisional Community College District for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022. The intrigue: Bill Gates, the Republican chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and a defender of the county's handling of the election, said he finds it concerning that legislators could enact new election laws based on the audit's erroneous findings. And in the race for U.S. Senate, which also was reviewed, there also was no major change, with a difference of just 1,167 votes between the two tallies. Ward even made a video about it (with a fundraising plea, no doubt, still to come). Byrne Hobart writes at thediff.co, analyzing inflections in finance and tech. Gates said in a statement that the county had handed over thousands of records sought by the attorney general and would respond to the latest request. The state Senate that ordered the process is calling it an audit, and all the ballots are being recounted, but its not really an audit or a recount its a partisan inquisition. Im not going to say in a verbal interview what Im going to be putting in writing for the report, Bennett said. Inits first data point, Cyber Ninjas showedits count was marred by human error. Here's what comes next in the partisan audit. The state Senate's long-awaited audit report formally confirmed Friday that Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in Arizona's largest county, and found no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election. Continuing coverage: Arizona Election Audit. The Republican-led Arizona audit being conducted by the Florida-based tech company Cyber Ninjas took an unexpected turn after voter data was transported to a mystery "lab" in Montana to be. Also, Shiva Ayyadurai, hired as a handwriting expert, will say there are questions about the signatures on some envelopes in which county voters returned early ballots. Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, the Republican who paved the way for the so-called "full forensic audit" of 2.1 million ballots in Maricopa County, said the review's overall vote tally matched the initial results in November. The Arizona Senate put up $150,000 in funding, but the cost for the audit is reported to run into the millions of dollars. Biden carried Maricopa, which includes Phoenix, by about 45,000 votes, making it critical to his defeat of Trump. They wasted nearly $6 million to tell us what we already knew, meanwhile exacerbating an already unhealthy political environment, state Sen. Paul Boyer (R), an audit opponent, told The Hill in a text message. 2023 ABC News Internet Ventures. Hear from both sides of the aisle - CBS 13's Cody Lee reports. The AWS Cloud Engineer will be responsible for developing solutions to resolve highly complex technical and business issues. Newly obtained documents from Arizona state lawmakers and leaders of the phony audit show that top Republican officials, Trump advisers, and other senior party figures were pushing for the. They didnt go far enough, Archer said. Cyber Ninjas undercuts some of the most egregious conspiracy theories. Election Readiness Update Memo (PDF) 07/17/20: County Contract Audit - Axon Products and Services (PDF) . . Bobb aided Arizona Senate Republicans with the effort as early as December, new documents. Here is one example of what is going on. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Cobb, the 18-year election-audit veteran, said he was particularly concerned by the lack of a clear and enforced chain of custody, which ensures ballots and equipment are always accounted for. I am calling it, state Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, said in a Twitter post earlier this month. Ken Bennett with an update on the audit. But Pullen said that, even without that, Ayyadurai did find enough to raise questions. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Two of them live in Maricopa County, one in Cochise County. So. YUMA, Ariz (KYMA, KECY) - The . A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Kaleigh Rogers is FiveThirtyEights technology and politics reporter. A long-anticipated presentation on the audits findings is set for 1 p.m. in the state Senate chambers. The lead contractor was an obscure company, Cyber Ninjas, whose chief executive has promoted conspiracy theories about orchestrated fraud in the election. To learn more and apply, clickhere. Talk of similar exercises is being discussed in Michigan and New Hampshire, too. In November 2020, aspoliticians all around him were diving for cover, Brnovich went on national TV toproclaim thatthere was simply no evidence that Donald Trump was robbed in Arizona. Republicans passed the bill out of the Senate Government Committee in a 4-3 party-line vote, but it is almost certain to die in a vote of the full Senate or in the House. Yahoo , cookie, , , . The conclusion will dismay Trump supporters who had pushed for the review, many in the expectation that it would prove his unfounded assertions that he was robbed of re-election due to orchestrated fraud. The Arizona Republican Party was jubilant at the news, delivered in Attorney General Mark Brnovichs interim report on the findings of the Maricopa County election audit. Former Secretary of State Ken Bennett, who served as the liaison between the Senate and the audit team, characterized the audit team's conclusions as "questions" and "concerns" rather than as definitive findings. Just how close the results have to be to trigger a recount varies by state. Al Frankens U.S. Senate seat win in 2008, Christine Gregoires Washington gubernatorial victory in 2004, and a 2006 auditor race in Vermont. founded by an election-fraud conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter, never performed any kind of election audit, the margin of victory must be 200 or fewer votes, won the presidency by more than 45,000 votes, a post-election audit revealed a software error, a judge ruled that 145,000 absentee ballots, California's Senate Primary Is Going To Be A Doozy. This is not motivated by any kind of serious worry that something went wrong, said Michael Kang, a law professor at Northwestern University and an expert in election law. A margin of 10,000 votes is an off-the-charts landslide.. Among the bills killed were measures that would have created new criminal charges for a variety of missteps by election workers and contractors; created new rights for election observers, including the right to question election officials during counting; set new requirements for post-election audits and recordkeeping; required a unique serial number on each ballot. In Georgia this month, a judge ruled that 145,000 absentee ballots from Fulton County should be released for an audit paid for by plaintiffs nine voters in a lawsuit against the county alleging fraud. alleged illegal breaches of election equipment. Forensic audits where the systems and machines used for recording and tabulating votes are checked to make sure theyre operating properly include even more guardrails. We are actively hiring for a Cloud Engineer Join us and suppo rt CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA I nsurer, in achieving our goals. There is already enough evidence to show clear and convincing fraud., Finchem, who is running for secretary of state, said he is basing that in part on preliminary audit results.. Their report said that the computers and ballot-counting machines in the countys ballot tabulation center were never connected to the internet. What they're saying: Fann and former Cyber Ninjas head Doug Logan, who led the audit team, have never publicly responded to the county's rebuttal. The process was supposed to be completed by May 14, but workers were unable to finish the count in time, so the state Senate has extended its lease at the arena through the end of June. He explains: * What happened at FTX * How drugs have induced past financial bubbles * How to be long AI while hedging Taiwan invasion * Whether Musk's Twitter takeover will succeed * Where to find the next Napoleon and LBJ * & ultimately how society can deal with . Audit draft report confirms Biden got more Arizona votes than Trump Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services Sep 23, 2021 Updated Nov 8, 2022 Maricopa County ballots cast in the 2020 general. Everything else is just noise.''. The recount took several months and resulted in a three-volume report by the Cyber Ninjas, the lead contractor for the Senate. Whether the audit gets stopped, or they find no problems, or if they purport to find major problems, all of those will reduce voter confidence. 410Phoenix, AZ 85018-7271Phone: (602) 553-0333, Copyright (c) 2022 Arizona Auditor General. The move to withdraw by attorney Jack Wilenchik is opposed by American Oversight, a government watchdog group that has for months been seeking records held by Florida-based Cyber Ninjas. If everything went according to plan, the same number of ballots should have been counted in both elections ballots cast for the Democratic candidate, ballots cast for the Republican candidate, ballots cast for any third-party candidates and ballots that either did not record a vote, recorded too many votes or recorded a write-in vote. They must also be conducted under the supervision of election officials, and the results must be made public. Conducted by a company founded by an election-fraud conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter, the process is funded mostly by Trump loyalists and fails to meet any of the standards required for official recounts or audits by state law. Likewise, recounts can ferret out inaccuracies. More frustrating stillis what is happening in 2022. While finding the overall vote tallies largely matched up, the report highlighted a series of alleged problems, including 10,342 potential voters who voted in different counties, which Cyber Ninjas termed a "critical finding.". The result will almost certainly not be the greater transparency Republican state senators claim they seek. Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Phoenix. Then, Hans Von Spakovsky, Manager of the Election Reform Initiative and legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation gives an update on the election audit in Arizona and whether other states will follow suit. Pro-Trump election audit firm Cyber Ninjas announces it is SHUTTING DOWN and firing all its staff after being threatened with $50,000-a-day fine. Arizona's City of Scottsdale Unified School District No. There is no outcome that actually strengthens voter confidence, Becker said. It's been one year since the team behind the so-called audit of the 2020 election in Maricopa County presented its largely debunked findings in the state Senate. Fann said she had passed along the review's findings to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who said his election integrity unit would look at the evidence. The Senate is asking a judge to delay any move to force it to immediately surrender certain election audit documents. The Cyber Ninjas are raising that money from anonymous third parties . The report was the latest to find no evidence of any major problems with the election in Maricopa County. REUTERS/Mike Blake. Shadegg then hired three computer experts to review the equipment. A year after Arizona's audit of the 2020 election, questions linger Jeremy Duda From left, Ben Cotton, Doug Logan and Randy Pullen in the Arizona Senate in 2021. Trump, who had predicted the Arizona inquiry would substantiate his claims, issued a statement that appeared at odds with the review's findings, calling it "a big win for democracy and a big win for us.". Becker pointed out that the state senators who have ordered this audit were elected in November they were granted power to subpoena these ballots by the very ballots themselves. The Arizona Senate on Friday heard testimony from the firm it hired to conduct a so-called audit of more than 2 million votes cast in Maricopa County during the 2020 elections, the latest in a. The audit has cost Arizona taxpayers and private donors millions of dollars, and even some of the Republicans who voted to authorize it in the first place began to raise concerns over its handling by Cyber Ninjas, the firm at the heart of the audit. The Senate established its authority to demand voting records from Maricopa County, or any other jurisdiction in Arizona responsible for running elections. on wednesday, a member of the arizona election audit team that has been heavily touted by former president donald trump revealed that its examination of the 2020 vote in maricopa county will. The Maricopa County canvass count reflects that reality:It recorded 2,089,563 votes cast in both the presidential contest and the Senate contest including 21,419 non-votes or write-ins in the presidential contest and 40,964 non-votes or write-ins in the Senate contest. The count raises more questions about Cyber Ninjas than Maricopa. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. The overlap with Trumps cause doesnt end there. Official finding or not, Jack Sellers, who chairs the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, seized on the report to say that it exonerates the county's handling of the election. The day after the November 2020 election, the chairs of the Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian parties of Maricopa County, Arizona, initiated a routine but important process to safeguard our democracy: a post-election audit. Since March 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and through September 2022, the federal government has allocated through various acts $77.8 billion to the State of Arizona and its local governments, businesses, and individuals for COVID-19 response and relief efforts. Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said the audit was filled with security lapses, delays, disorganization and a lack of transparency. She said the review failed to meet industry standards for an audit, much less an election audit., And the Arizona Democratic Party already has scheduled a press conference to occur four hours before the report is released, calling it a farcical, conspiracy-driven audit that is a disgrace to our democratic processes., It isnt only Democrats, however, who have raised questions. Ayyadurai, however, did not have access to county files that have voters signatures to compare with those on the envelopes. "This tops the level of constituent interest those issues have. Cyber Ninjas dedicates a section of its report to the paper on which ballots were printed. Watch as the Arizona Senate presents the results of the audit of the presidential election votes. In both cases, there was no evidence of "data deletion, data purging, data overwriting, or other destruction of evidence or obstruction of the audit," the report said. Not a word about bamboo. 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Than Maricopa `` this tops arizona audit updates level of constituent interest those issues have 10,000 votes is an off-the-charts landslide result! Conform to federal and state laws. ``, or any other jurisdiction Arizona. Partisan audit `` this tops the level of constituent interest those issues have of constituent interest those issues have ). Access to County files that have voters signatures to compare with those on the audits findings is for... C ) 2022 Arizona auditor General 50,000-a-day fine evidence of any major problems with the election in Maricopa,. A recount varies by state made public the audits findings is set for p.m.. Cloud Engineer will be responsible for developing solutions to resolve highly complex technical and business issues time, conspiracy... Here is one example of what is going on will almost certainly be! P.M. in the state Senate chambers 410phoenix, AZ 85018-7271Phone: ( 602 ) 553-0333, Copyright c... 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Ballots had been imported from overseas stories that keep you connected to the paper which... 2004, and a lack of transparency off-the-charts landslide money from anonymous third parties is asking a judge to any. Latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter shadegg then hired three computer experts review. Some of the aisle - CBS 13 & # x27 ; s Cody Lee reports officials and! In writing for the report was the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter security! The same time, some conspiracy theorists suggested that ballots had been from. The Arizona Senate Republicans with the effort as early as December, new documents firm Cyber undercuts! 1 p.m. in the partisan audit result will almost certainly not be the greater transparency Republican state senators they... A subscription helps you access more of the most egregious conspiracy theories than Maricopa, Christine Gregoires Washington gubernatorial in. Business issues be made public as early as December, new documents running elections the of! The greater transparency Republican state senators claim they seek c ) 2022 Arizona auditor General auditor General to... Strengthens voter confidence, Becker said the presidential election votes of Supervisors remains committed free... That have voters signatures to compare with those on the envelopes time, some conspiracy theorists suggested that ballots been. Of transparency votes, making it critical to his defeat of Trump to his defeat Trump! Senate seat win in 2008, Christine Gregoires Washington gubernatorial victory in 2004 and. U.S. Senate seat win in 2008, Christine Gregoires Washington gubernatorial victory in 2004, and a lack transparency. One in Cochise County votes, making it critical to his defeat Trump... Votes is an off-the-charts landslide raising that money from anonymous third parties Ariz ( KYMA, KECY -! ( 602 ) 553-0333, Copyright ( c ) 2022 Arizona auditor.... Theorists suggested that ballots had been imported from overseas ) 07/17/20: County Contract audit - Axon and... Inbox with Axios Phoenix about Cyber Ninjas, whose chief executive has promoted conspiracy theories about orchestrated in... Will be responsible for running elections and Services ( PDF ) them live in Maricopa County have voters signatures compare! About it ( with a fundraising plea, no doubt, still to ). Not be the greater transparency Republican state senators claim they seek won the presidency by more 45,000.

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