Maricopa County ballot audit

[Crumpets]

There's an audit going on in Maricopa County, AZ that the right wing internet is very confident is going to expose fraud. However, the Arizona Senate has hired FL-based "Cyber Ninjas, Inc." to conduct the audit, and their trustworthiness is somewhat in question, resulting in a judge halting the audit yesterday. I doubt much will come out of it either way, but it's some nice drama to watch now that we have returned to a political age whomst is boring.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

It's going forward.
GOP-backed recount of Maricopa County ballots appears on track to move forward after initial pause ordered by Arizona judge

After state Democrats filed a lawsuit this week to halt the proceedings, an Arizona judge on Friday ordered that the recount be paused for the weekend to consider their allegations that the process violates state laws governing the security of ballots.

However, he required that the Democratic Party post a $1 million bond to cover the potential costs of a delay. On Friday afternoon, the state party said it would not put up the money, meaning the recount is on track to press ahead.

In response to Coury’s bond requirement, Desai said later that the party was not willing to risk turning over $1 million to “a group of conspiracy theorists running a sham audit.” She said she was pleased that the judge had ordered the Senate to make public the procedures governing its process.

Langhofer said the Senate viewed the order as an attempt by the judiciary to inappropriately manage the work of the legislature and would appeal.

As far as what the results are likely to be...
Trump ninjas don't know what ink color to use on ballots. And they're auditing our election?

During a press conference on Thursday, reporters weren’t allowed to ask the head auditor, Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan, about his previous tweets promoting the Stop the Steal movement.

Who, exactly, are the 150 people that will be counting the ballots? Logan says there will be three-person teams but he wouldn’t assure reporters that those teams each will be balanced to include a Republican, a Democrat and an independent.

Why is it that the only races being counted are the presidential and Senate races? Logan says it’s a function of time. But if widespread fraud is suspected, surely the inquiry should extend beyond the two races won by Democrats. Surely, the Senate Republicans who ordered this audit would want to ensure their own elections were valid.

No matter what the outcome of this audit is, it will not be credible. If the Arizona Republican Party was actually concerned about verifying their state's elections (which they are not), this would be an entirely state-funded, statewide audit, with independent, credible auditors examining all the election results.

[SnowLabrador]

This is a coup attempt.

[Devils30]

No it’s not. Courts might rule this is meaningless and they lack jurisdiction to hear any of these ridiculous claims for an issue long decided.

[sting in the rafters]

Why is it that the only races being counted are the presidential and Senate races? Logan says it’s a function of time. But if widespread fraud is suspected, surely the inquiry should extend beyond the two races won by Democrats. Surely, the Senate Republicans who ordered this audit would want to ensure their own elections were valid.

No matter what the outcome of this audit is, it will not be credible. If the Arizona Republican Party was actually concerned about verifying their state's elections (which they are not), this would be an entirely state-funded, statewide audit, with independent, credible auditors examining all the election results.

Lol that's a dead giveaway.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Cyber Ninjas, hired by Arizona Senate to recount Maricopa County's ballots, asks court to keep its procedures secret

Lawyers for Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based company the Arizona Senate hired to lead a recount of Maricopa County’s 2.1 million general election ballots, are asking a judge to keep secret its procedures for the recount and shut out the public as well as the press from a hearing in which the documents might be discussed.

Judge Christopher Coury asked the company on Friday to turn over its plans and procedures amid concerns about the security of the county's ballots and voter privacy.

But the company argued on Sunday that filing the documents in court publicly would compromise the security of its recount. And it argued that the records include protected trade secrets. The company also maintained that the documents are protected by legislative privilege, as it is working on behalf of the state Senate.

[Chips]

232 or 243, Biden is still president, period.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

UV lights, cars with Trump bumper stickers and a lack of transparency illustrate ongoing GOP-driven ballot review in Arizona

Bennett, the former Arizona secretary of state hired by Republicans to serve as an audit liaison, told reporters earlier in the week that "the UV lights are looking at the paper, and it's part of several teams that are involved in the paper evaluation."

When CNN asked if he could specify the purpose the UV lights served, he said he did not know.
Under order by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Martin, Cyber Ninjas on Thursday released some of their procedures, including acknowledging the use of UV lights. In the Cyber Ninjas document, however, it wasn't clearly explained why they were needed.

Another Cyber Ninjas document revealed security plans for the coliseum where the audit is being performed. Called "The Arizona Audit Security Overview," it lays out potential security breaches, numbers of private security guards and singles out "Antifa" as a security threat.

The document shows that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey denied a request for members of the Department of Public Safety and National Guard members to provide security. (Trump has often attacked Ducey for his loss in Arizona, and the state Republican Party censured the governor earlier this year.)

[Inmate Trump]

The right wing rhetoric of election fraud is only going to increase.

Every election they lose from here on out will have unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.  Some of these claims will see success in overturning free and fair elections.  It's bound to happen.

The Republican Party is ushering in a new phase of authoritarian rule in America.

[AtorBoltox]

If the Republicans actually attempt to overturn the results in Arizona they must be met with the full force of the federal government. Failing that, the people's wrath must be visited upon them

[sting in the rafters]

If the Republicans actually attempt to overturn the results in Arizona they must be met with the full force of the federal government. Failing that, the people's wrath must be visited upon them

Ask yourself, which political faction in the US has all the guns? Which faction has nearly monopolistic control on the worldview of local law enforcement departments? Which faction has a plurality of the members in the military?

The sentiment is admirable though asking for a massacre.

[Podgy the Bear]

The right wing rhetoric of election fraud is only going to increase.

Every election they lose from here on out will have unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.  Some of these claims will see success in overturning free and fair elections.  It's bound to happen.

The Republican Party is ushering in a new phase of authoritarian rule in America.

Delusion is great for the human mind--until reality hits.

[Crumpets]

NBC: Arizona Democrats, GOP settle over 2020 ballot review, but audit will continue

Arizona Democrats won concessions Wednesday in settling their challenge to Republicans' unprecedented audit of 2.1 million ballots cast in the 2020 election, but they failed to block the review as they had sought.

The state Democratic Party had sued the Republican Party and Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based cybersecurity company it hired to conduct an audit of ballots in Maricopa, the state's most populous county. The audit, which grew out of Arizona GOP lawmakers' efforts to toss out Joe Biden's victory in the state last year, is being led by those who believe, baselessly, that the Arizona vote was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

The agreement orders Arizona Senate Republicans and Cyber Ninjas, which is run by a supporter of Trump, to allow independent elections experts to observe the process, take aggressive measures to secure personal voter information, turn over details about audit policies and procedures and make those documents public. If there is a breach of the agreement, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, can take the company and the Senate GOP to court for breach of contract.

[UncleSam]

NBC: Arizona Democrats, GOP settle over 2020 ballot review, but audit will continue

Arizona Democrats won concessions Wednesday in settling their challenge to Republicans' unprecedented audit of 2.1 million ballots cast in the 2020 election, but they failed to block the review as they had sought.

The state Democratic Party had sued the Republican Party and Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based cybersecurity company it hired to conduct an audit of ballots in Maricopa, the state's most populous county. The audit, which grew out of Arizona GOP lawmakers' efforts to toss out Joe Biden's victory in the state last year, is being led by those who believe, baselessly, that the Arizona vote was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

The agreement orders Arizona Senate Republicans and Cyber Ninjas, which is run by a supporter of Trump, to allow independent elections experts to observe the process, take aggressive measures to secure personal voter information, turn over details about audit policies and procedures and make those documents public. If there is a breach of the agreement, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, can take the company and the Senate GOP to court for breach of contract.

That all seems fair to me. Not really sure why everyone is so scared of this.

[DINGO Joe]

Because people are tired of putting up with a bunch of wacko nutjobs handling ballots that they have no business touching

One of the independent experts explains here what the "auditors" are doing

https://twitter.com/dennis_welch/status/1390020821230313473

You see the Q wackos are looking for bamboo fibers

[Progressive Pessimist]

Stupid is an understatement for this. Is it even possible to overrule Electoral College certifications after they've been certified by both the state and federal government?

If this becomes a precedent, maybe Democrats should do this with the 2000 Palm Beach County results. Then we can retroactively make Gore President...or something if the results indeed change. And keep in mind, 500 votes is far more likely to change hands than 11,000.

But I suspect, as usual, that this is just the GOP trying to make reality reflect their cognitive dissonance. That doesn't make it okay, of course. The GOP are circling the toilet drain of authoritarianism still, and it should not be tolerated.

[junior chįmp]

This country is finished

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Republican says 'embarrassing' Arizona recount 'makes us look like idiots'

A GOP state senator blasted the 2020 election vote audit in an Arizona county, saying “it makes us look like idiots.”

“Looking back, I didn’t think it would be this ridiculous. It’s embarrassing to be a state senator at this point,” Arizona state Sen. Paul Boyer, who previously supported the audit in Maricopa County, added on Friday, according to The New York Times.

[DINGO Joe]

Republican says 'embarrassing' Arizona recount 'makes us look like idiots'

A GOP state senator blasted the 2020 election vote audit in an Arizona county, saying “it makes us look like idiots.”

“Looking back, I didn’t think it would be this ridiculous. It’s embarrassing to be a state senator at this point,” Arizona state Sen. Paul Boyer, who previously supported the audit in Maricopa County, added on Friday, according to The New York Times.

Sometimes, looks aren't deceiving at all.

[Non Swing Voter]

I'm old enough to remember Republicans crying fraud because a bunch of mail in ballots were counted the day after Election Day.  How do Republicans justify this taking weeks and weeks?

[DINGO Joe]

Yeah, I saw what you posted on the other thread.  He's just another wacko in the looney bin.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

2020 ballots relocated in semi trucks as Arizona election audit pauses over space availability

The first semi truck full of 2020 election ballots rolled slowly through the Arizona State Fairgrounds on Friday, past the "Crazy Times Carnival" set up in the south parking lot to a warehouse where the approximately 2.1 million ballots cast by Maricopa County voters will be stored for the next week.

This is the latest bizarre act in the replay of the Big Lie -- that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

On Thursday night, a three-week ballot review led by the GOP-controlled Arizona Senate came to a temporary halt. The lease for the Senate and its tech consultants, Cyber Ninjas, was up at the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, where openly partisan volunteers and hourly workers had been conducting the ballot count.

[perpetual_cynic]

Republicans just can't stand the fact that they've lost Maricopa for the first time in nearly 100 years.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

GOP-led Maricopa County board decries election recount a 'sham'

In a letter to GOP senators announcing that the board will cease all cooperation with the GOP state senators' efforts, the board accused state senators of allowing Arizona to become a "laughingstock" as they pursued discredited, false claims of election fraud perpetrated by former President Trump.

"You are photographing ballots contrary to the laws that the Senate helped enact, and you are sending those images to unidentified places and people. You have repeatedly lost control of your Twitter account, which has tweeted things that appear to be the rantings of a petulant child—not the serious statements of a serious audit," wrote the board.

“I will not be responding to any more requests from this sham process. Finish your audit and be ready to defend what you’re finding in a court of law,” added Chairman Jack Sellers (R) at Monday's meeting of the board, according to The Washington Post.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

ouch ouch ouch.