Arizona Audit Observers Publish Recorded Violations in Process
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) launched a new website where her office will publish observed errors, infractions and violations made during the Republican-controlled audit of Maricopa County’s 2020 election results. Thanks to a settlement in a May lawsuit filed by the secretary of state, audit observers were allowed into the buildings where the audit is happening. Observers are clearly marked with colored shirts and have already reported a series of infractions and concerning violations made by Cyber Ninjas and other private audit firms hired by state Senate Republicans. Reported violations include:
- Ballots left unattended by auditors
- The presence of unauthorized blue and black pens on the audit floor
- Prohibited items such as cell phones in the possession of auditors
- Security gates and confidential manuals left open and unattended
- Verbal harassment of observers, with those wearing pink shirts reporting that Republican officials on site “refer[ring] to them as ‘pinkies’ or ‘pinkos’ to either imply and/or assert that the observers are communists,” and say they “look like a transgender”
Republicans from across the country have come together in support of this unnecessarily and farcical audit as they seek to delegitimize and overturn the results of the 2020 election. Three Pennsylvania lawmakers are headed to Arizona this week for a tour of the audit, including state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R), who has previously been accused of using campaign funds to pay for buses to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 and trespassing on Capitol property after breaching police barricades. Mastriano is exploring a run for governor of Pennsylvania.