Tag: Election Integrity Unit

Former Arizona AG Attorney Asks State Supreme Court to Investigate AG Kris Mayes for Ethics Violations

Rachel Alexander

New Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued a press release last month criticizing her predecessor, Republican Mark Brnovich, for disagreeing with two of his employees on whether there was election fraud in the 2020 midterm election. As a result of her press release, 17 people filed bar complaints against him, including Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Jennifer Wright, who served as the Arizona Attorney General Office’s (AGO) Election Integrity Unit (EIU) civil attorney, denounced Mayes for the move, and is asking the Arizona Supreme Court to look into whether Mayes violated ethics rules by releasing attorney-client privileged work to the public.

In a March 13 letter addressed to Justice Bill Montgomery as the chair of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Task Force on Ethics Rules Governing the State Attorney General, County Attorneys, and Other Public Lawyers, Wright referenced Mayes’ position on the task force, and said, “I encourage the Task Force to inquire as to what Rule of Professional Conduct Ms. Mayes relied upon to justify waiving her predecessor’s attorney-client privilege and publicly releasing privileged materials.”

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Virginia NAACP Pays $20,000 for FOIA Request of Records from Miyares’ Election Integrity Unit

Eric Burk

The Virginia NAACP says it is paying $20,000 for a FOIA request into Attorney General Jason Miyares’ Unit of Election Integrity. On Monday, the organization issued a press release suggesting that the unit is unnecessary and that the high price for the requested information is meant to protect the unit from scrutiny. The organization followed up Tuesday with a press conference at the Virginia Capitol. “There is simply no legitimate justification for the creation of this Unit, except to pander to the election deniers and conspiracy theorists whose own rhetoric and actions are the real force undermining public confidence in our elections,” Virginia NAACP President Robert Barnette said in the Monday release. “For the Attorney General to invoke the concept of ‘purity’ in elections in announcing this Unit is particularly alarming to Black Virginians, who have for generations endured racial discrimination, intimidation, and violence intended to prevent them from participating equally in our democracy.” Miyares’ spokesperson Victoria LaCivita responded in a statement, “It is an absolute insult to the Attorney General to falsely claim that he, as the first Hispanic ever elected to statewide office in Virginia, is trying to intimidate and prevent Virginians of any color or background from…

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Attorney General Miyares Creates Election Integrity Unit

Eric Burk

Attorney General Jason Miyares has created a 20-member Election Integrity Unit within the Office of the Attorney General [OAG]; the unit will investigate and prosecute violations of election law, provide legal guidance, and work with law enforcement to protect election purity.

“I pledged during the 2021 campaign to work to increase transparency and strengthen confidence in our state elections. It should be easy to vote, and hard to cheat. The Election Integrity Unit will work to help to restore confidence in our democratic process in the Commonwealth,” Miyares said in a press release.

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Brnovich Demands Maricopa County Freeze All Materials Related to 2020 Election

Rachel Alexander

In response to the report released last week about the Maricopa County ballot audit, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s Election Integrity Unit sent a letter to Maricopa County instructing the recorder and supervisors to preserve all records related to the 2020 election in preparation for litigation. He also sent a letter to the Arizona Senate requesting more information related to the audit. 

“The Arizona Senate’s report that was released on Friday raises some serious questions regarding the 2020 election,” Brnovich said in a statement about the letters. “Arizonans can be assured our office will conduct a thorough review of the information we receive.”

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