Finally, Arizona’s election fraud has been found!

At long last, that hallowed day has arrived. This historic moment when Arizona’s conspiracy crowd can rise, with one voice, and proclaim, “aHA!”

Yes, it seems that Arizona’s elusive election fraud has finally been uncovered.

The Arizona Republican Party was jubilant at the news, delivered in Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s interim report on the findings of the Maricopa County election audit.

“BREAKING NEWS: Arizona Audit w/ @KelliWardAZ. AG @GeneralBrnovich has determined widespread FRAUD in the Maricopa County 2020 election,” the Arizona Republican Party breathlessly reported.

State GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward was practically orgasmic.

“Perp walks & prosecutions on the way! #ElectionIntegrity,” she tweeted.

Ward even made a video about it (with a fundraising plea, no doubt, still to come).

“The report says the Election Integrity Unit review has uncovered instances of election fraud,” Ward reported to the party faithful. “Yes, election fraud by individuals who have been or will be prosecuted for various election crimes… Wow. That’s big. The words fraud and prosecuted are finally being used.”

Widespread election fraud = 9 cases in 3.4 million votes

Wow is right.

Especially if you read the footnote accompanying the 12-page report’s lone sentence about election fraud – the one that references a report on all the fraud that Brnovich’s Elections Integrity Unit has uncovered in the 2020 presidential election.

All nine cases.

There are the six felons who somehow allegedly managed to vote while in Pima County jail.

And there are three women who returned their recently deceased mothers’ early ballots. Two of them live in Maricopa County, one in Cochise County.

So. Nine cases of election fraud. Out of 3.4 million votes cast.

Something’s widespread, all right, and rather fragrant, as well. But it isn’t fraud.

Within hours of Brnovich’s report, Republican legislative hopeful Steve Zipperman had already pumped out a fundraising plea. 

“Attorney General Brnovich has released a letter to Senator Fann (click below for full text), declaring that there WAS “Election Fraud” in the 2020 election…,”  wrote Zipperman, one of three Republicans hoping to replace Sen. Karen Fann. “As the ONLY Arizona Senate Candidate for LD-1 who declared that there WAS Election Fraud in 2020, Steve was attacked for his conviction.  Steve’s insight, courage, and motivation to restore voter confidence in Arizona is essential.”

No word Steve’s ability to read a footnote. 

Or maybe he intentionally omitted the fact that we are talking about nine whole cases of election fraud.

Not even Brnovich – the Senate candidate who is slipping in the polls and desperately chasing Donald Trump’s endorsement – could bring himself to claim Arizona’s election was stolen, though he came as close as he possibly could. (Which is to say, not close at all).

He claimed there are “serious vulnerabilities” in Arizona’s electoral system, but he couldn’t point to a single instance of a phony vote as a result.

The only ‘vulnerability’ is Brnovich’s Senate campaign

The only truly serious vulnerability here is Brnovich’s Senate campaign prospects, which is why I suspect that the attorney general who in 2020 had no problem with Arizona’s election now suddenly … does.

In November 2020, as politicians all around him were diving for cover, Brnovich went on national TV to proclaim that there was simply no evidence that Donald Trump was robbed in Arizona. Then he went on to certify the election.

“It came down to: People split their ticket,” he told Fox Business’ Neil Cavuto. “People voted for Republicans down ballot, and they didn’t vote for President Trump or Martha McSally. So, that’s the reality.”

And yet here is Brnovich now, when there still is no evidence that Donald Trump was robbed.

“It’s frustrating,” he said on Steve Bannon’s podcast on Thursday morning. “It’s frustrating to all of us, what happened in 2020.”

More frustrating still is what is happening in 2022.

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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