In Arizona’s Bizarre Election Audit, Ballots Are Being Checked For Bamboo And Election Chief Has Been Assigned Protection
Topline
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) has been assigned law enforcement protection after receiving death threats over her opposition to the state’s election recount, according to multiple reports, as the second full week of the Republican-ordered audit comes to an end.
A contractor working for Cyber Ninjas, which was hired by the Arizona state Senate, transports … [+]
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Key Facts
Friday marks two weeks since Arizona started the recount of 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County, which was ordered by the GOP-controlled state Senate to determine whether widespread fraud took place in the 2020 presidential election and U.S. Senate race.
The ballots are being hand counted, and an audit official earlier this week said at least some of the ballots are being scanned for bamboo fibers, in line with an absurd conspiracy theory that 40,000 forged ballots were shipped into the state from Asia.
On Thursday, the Justice Department sent a letter to local officials warning the audit might be violating federal law since ballots have been handed over to a private company.
Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan has pushed a conspiracy theory that a company tied to long-dead Venezuelan strongman dictator Hugo Chavez somehow rigged voting machines against former President Donald Trump.
Cyber Ninjas was ordered late last week to release information on how it planned to maintain voter privacy, after a state judge said he was “not yet persuaded” privacy was being protected.
What To Watch For
The recount, being held at the Arizona Exposition and State Fair, is reportedly well behind its expected pace, and auditors have been given a hard May 14 deadline to vacate the facility, since there’s a high school graduation booked. Ken Bennett, a former Arizona secretary of state who’s overseeing the audit on behalf of the Senate, suggested the audit could “take a break” and then resume after the graduation.
Key Background
The audit appears solely driven by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that widespread voter fraud kept him from winning the 2020 presidential election, and Trump has said he’s monitoring the audit and expects “the results will be startling!” The audit is solely reviewing ballots from the presidential election and the U.S. Senate race, both of which Democrats won. It’s also only looking at ballots in Arizona’s largest county, Maricopa, which includes Phoenix and its sprawling suburbs.
What We Don’t Know
It’s unclear exactly how the audit is being funded and who is paying for it. The state Senate is paying $150,000, but Logan said there’s also outside funding.
Further Reading
They’re Still Counting—But Here’s Why Arizona’s Election Recount Is Causing Concern (Forbes)
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