Audit update: Arizona Senate-ordered audit of Maricopa County's presidential election ballot will stop for a week
The Arizona Senate-ordered audit of Maricopa County's general election will take a one-week hiatus at the end of the week to make way for high school graduations at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
The plan is to move the ballots and equipment to another area of the Arizona State Fairgrounds on Friday and move back in May 23 to pick back up on May 24.
“We’ll stand aside and secure all the ballots and equipment here on the property and be ready to go when they’re finished,” said the state Senate's audit liaison, Ken Bennett.
Jen Yee, assistant executive director at the Arizona State Fair and Exposition, confirmed the plan on Monday, and the Senate on Wednesday extended its lease through June 30.
The hand recount of the presidential and U.S. Senate races for the county's nearly 2.1 million ballots began April 23 and initially was expected to wrap up at the end of this week. It is nowhere near on pace for that to happen.
9:30 a.m.: Inside the coliseum
Florida-based technology firm Cyber Ninjas is overseeing a subcontractor conducting the hand recount and a ballot inspection process that may be inspecting ballots for watermarks or bamboo fibers, which election officials have dismissed as conspiracy theories. They also are looking for folds in the ballots and other aspects of gauging a ballot's authenticity, Bennett has said.
Recount tables: About 23 of 46 tables full or partially staffed.
Paper evaluation tables: 12 of 13 tables staffed.
Number of observers: 16-18 volunteer observers on the floor.
Latest estimate of ballots recounted: Bennett on Wednesday afternoon estimated they have recounted 350,000 to 400,000 ballots.
The chatter
Questions remain about whether the state Senate will continue to push (file more subpoenas) for access to the county's routers and administrative passwords to the county's voting machines. County officials, including Sheriff Paul Penzone, have said it would put law enforcement and other sensitive information at risk. The Republic asked election security and IT experts to weigh in on the high-tech fight.
Journalists to watch
Jeremy Duda from the Arizona Mirror observes from 8 a.m to 1 p.m. Wednesday. Follow his reports on Twitter @jeremyduda.
Kyung Lah from CNN observes from 2 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. Follow her reports on Twitter @kyunglahcnn.
Local journalists initially were denied specific access to report or record the recount. They were told they would have to sign up to work a shift as a volunteer observer. Local media outlets, including The Republic, retained an attorney and succeeded in gaining access. Journalists now cover shifts in a designated area of the coliseum as part of a press pool.
4 key details being kept secret
The Republic has asked or filed public record requests on these items. These are highlights, not a comprehensive list, of the unknowns we seek answers to for the public.
- Who is paying for this audit? The Arizona Senate put $150,000 toward the audit, although election experts told The Republic the cost would be far more. Private groups are collecting donations to pay for the audit, which means the public doesn't know who is fronting the money.
- How are the people recounting ballots recruited and screened? Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan said people recounting ballots were screened to ensure “there was nothing on their social media or other details that showed strong opinions one way or another.” But seeing former state Rep. Anthony Kern — a "Stop the Steal" backer — recounting ballots cast that in doubt. The Republic found that a few recruiters have far-right ties and are reaching out to traditionally conservative groups.
- What private contractors have access to ballots and voting machines? A complete list has not been publicly disclosed. Cyber Ninjas is overseeing the audit and Pennsylvania-based Wake Technology Inc. is in charge of the hand recount, while Virginia-based CyFIR is analyzing voting machines. Cyber Ninjas said in its original scope of work that the machine analysis would be done by Cyber Ninjas, CyFIR and “a number of additional analysts, the identities and qualifications of whom shall be made available to (the Senate) upon request.”
- Who is verifying the voter information? Cyber Ninjas has refused to say who is involved in the review of voter information. Beyond recounting ballots, the audit planned to verify voter information and voting history, although Cyber Ninjas' CEO has refused to provide details on who would do this. Liz Harris, a Republican who has called the audit a fight between "good and evil," has been canvassing in search of widespread voter fraud in Arizona. Harris initially said her group of volunteers was helping with the audit, but she couldn’t say on what part because of a nondisclosure agreement. She later said she doesn’t know what her involvement may be. Senate President Karen Fann, in a May 7 response to the U.S. Department of Justice's concerns that this aspect of the audit could illegally intimidate voters, said plans to knock on voters door had been dropped.
5 key details we know
- Independence and transparency of audit questioned. Election experts say the audit is biased, lacks transparency and is impossible to complete in a short timeframe. "I don't think there is any good end to this," said Tammy Patrick, a senior adviser of elections at Democracy Fund.
- Audit leader pushed unfounded election fraud claims. The Arizona Senate hired Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan to lead the audit. A deleted Twitter account that appears to belong to Logan pushed unfounded election fraud claims, including sharing this post in late 2020: "I’m tired of hearing people say there was no fraud. It happened, it’s real, and people better get wise fast."
- Audit won't be finished by original deadline. Auditors initially said they would be done by May 14, but the audit will take much longer if the current pace continues. Bennett backed off the May 14 deadline this month, saying the ballots would be moved to another area of the fairgrounds to make way for high school graduations scheduled at the coliseum. The audit would then pick back up in the coliseum, he said.
- Feds have raised concerns. The U.S. Department of Justice has questioned how ballots are being kept secure and how auditors will avoid voter intimidation if they go knocking on their doors. Arizona Senate President Karen Fann wrote in response that the Senate determined it would "indefinitely defer" knocking on doors as part of the audit.
- Not a bipartisan recount. Recruitment of people to recount the ballots has extended into right-wing circles with no guarantee those doing the recount are bipartisan.
Timeline: Catch up on audit
Dec. 15: Arizona Senate Republicans send their first subpoenas to Maricopa County for all ballots cast in the November 2020 election, voting machines, voter rolls and more information for "forensic analysis."
Dec. 18: The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors files suit to fight the subpoenas, saying it's too broad and would violate voters' privacy.
Jan. 12: Senate Republicans file new subpoenas to the county to replace the original ones, because a new Legislature had been sworn in and the county had argued that made the original subpoenas invalid. The new subpoenas asked for similar, if not the same, information.
Jan. 15 and Jan. 21: Maricopa County responds to the subpoenas, in part, by providing public voter information, election logs, detailed reporting of election results, and various other information to Senate Republicans. The county refuses to provide ballots, voting machines and private voter information.
Jan. 27: The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors votes to conduct an audit to try to put election integrity concerns to rest. "I really want to alleviate their concerns and their issues with whatever it is we are doing and convince them that this was in fact truly an honest election with good integrity," board Chairman Jack Sellers said.
Jan. 29: Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, says the county's audit doesn't go far enough and that the state Senate "has hired an independent, qualified, forensic auditing firm to analyze 2020 election results in Maricopa County." She refused to name the company and would later say she hadn't yet hired anyone.
Feb. 8: The possible arrest of Maricopa County Board of Supervisors over failing to fully respond to the subpoenas is averted when a lone Republican senator, Paul Boyer, votes against holding the board in contempt for not turning over ballots and other election materials the Senate seeks through subpoena. "My vote is about patience," Boyer says, hopeful the two sides can come to agreement.
Feb. 17: The audit that Maricopa County commissioned in an effort to alleviate election concerns is underway with accredited auditors, which election experts say is critical. One of those experts, Ben Ptashnik, compared giving a random company access to the voting systems to "giving the keys to your house to someone who you don't know."
Feb. 23: The county-commissioned audit shows its general election ballots were counted correctly. The county hired the independent auditors to verify that voting machines were not hacked, were not connected to the internet and counted votes properly during the 2020 general election.
Feb. 26: Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason rules the state Senate's subpoenas for county election data and machines are valid. Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers responds by saying the county "will immediately start working to provide the Arizona Senate with the ballots and other materials."
March 31: Senate President Karen Fann announces that Senate Republicans have hired private firm Cyber Ninjas to lead the audit and hire subcontractors. The Republic finds that the CEO of the firm touted widespread election fraud on social media.
April 7: The Republic reports that election consultants around the country say the state Senate's audit lacks transparency, bipartisanship and that it's probably not doable in the proposed timeframe and for the $150,000 the Senate put aside to pay for it.
April 22: Arizona Democratic Party and Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, the lone Democrat on the five-member board, file a lawsuit seeking to stop the audit because of security and other concerns.
April 22 and 23: Maricopa County delivers the ballots, voting machines, private voter information and other requested materials to Bennett, who Fann appointed as the state Senate's liaison, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
April 23: Recount begins with one reporter in the coliseum who signed up to work a six-hour shift as a volunteer observer. The Republic's Jen Fifield questions Cyber Ninjas' CEO about blue pens she spots on the recount tables. Voting machines can read black and blue ink, which is why recounts should use red ink. After checking, Logan has blue pens removed and replaced with green pens before any real ballots are taken out of the boxes.
April 23: Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury, concerned by uncertainties about the audit procedures, orders the Arizona Senate to "pause" its recount if the state Democratic Party, which asked for the halt, posts a $1 million bond to cover any costs from the delay. The Democratic Party does not post the bond and the audit continues.
April 27: Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Martin raises concerns about the rights of voters, but allows the audit to go forward.
April 27: Local media obtains limited access to coliseum during the recount.
April 29: Private contractor for audit releases documents outlining the audit's policies and procedures as ordered by a judge.
April 29: Crazy Times Carnival kicks off at the Arizona State Fairgrounds, which is also home to the coliseum where the recount is happening.
April 30: Republic reporter Ryan Randazzo is removed from the coliseum and told his press privileges are revoked after posting a photo showing a former Republican legislator at a ballot-counting table. The photo shows a ballot, with no markings discernible, on a vertical stand in front of former state Rep. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale. The Senate later reversed its revocation of Randazzo's access.
May 1: Bennett acknowledges the recount likely won't be completed by May 14 as he'd said it would just days earlier. There was "no deadline," he says.
May 5: The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division asks questions of Arizona Senate about the audit’s security and potential for voter intimidation. Additionally, the state Democratic Party and other critics of the audit settle their lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court, with the auditors agreeing to ballot security measures and voter privacy protections, among other things.
May 6: Efforts to recruit people to recount ballots appears targeted in part at traditionally conservative groups — and some of the recruiters themselves have far-right political ties.
May 7: Arizona Senate President Karen Fann's response to the U.S. Department of Justice says state Senate is dropping, for now, a controversial plan to go door-to-door to ask local residents about their voting history as part of its audit.
May 7: Maricopa County officials speak out against the Arizona Senate's push to access county computer routers and administrative passwords to voting machines. Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone calls the demand for routers "mind-numbingly reckless and irresponsible," saying it could compromise law enforcement data.