Tag: Maricopa County

Arizona AG Opens Inquiry into Maricopa County Election Irregularities, Possible Legal Violations

Just the News

The Arizona attorney general’s office has opened an inquiry into Maricopa County’s handling of the mid-term elections, demanding a full report of well-publicized irregularities and warning there is evidence of “statutory violations.”

The letter from Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s election integrity unit marks a major escalation in the dispute over how voters were treated on Election Day in the state’s largest county, where scores of ballot tabulators had problems because of printing problems.

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A Recount Could Take Place in Arizona’s Close Gubernatorial Race, Other Races

Rachel Alexander

With almost all of the ballots tabulated from Arizona’s midterm election, some races may end up so close that they trigger the state’s automatic recount provision. The governor’s race is separated by 17,200 votes, with Democrat Katie Hobbs leading Republican Kari Lake 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent. A recount is required where the difference “is less than or equal to one-half of one percent of the number of votes cast for both such candidates or on such measures or proposals.”

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Arizona Man Sentenced for Selling Fentanyl in Phoenix Homeless Camp

Neil Jones

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell revealed that Cristian Machado, 21, has been sentenced for supplying the population of the major homeless camp in Downtown Phoenix with fentanyl and other drugs.

“Selling illegal drugs to anyone in our community is a threat to public safety. To target those who are experiencing homelessness, and particularly vulnerable, is especially cruel, and this sentence demonstrates that my office will hold those who pose a danger to others accountable,” said Mitchell.

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Arizona Moves Closer to Certifying Election Results, Braces for Possible Election Challenges by Kari Lake and Others

Rachel Alexander

A staffer for Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake told The Arizona Sun Times that the candidate is preparing a lawsuit challenging the election results.  Lake said during a Monday evening interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters that she has concerns about certifying the election. “I can’t imagine our version of Joe Biden, Katie Hobbs, would win,” Lake said. “She didn’t campaign, she hid in her basement. She is a twice-convicted racist. I can’t believe the people of Arizona would vote for her and that she would win. But if that what’s happens at the end of the day, how do you certify an election that is this botched? And she’s the one that would certify her own election where it was botched. Where the machines didn’t work in more than a third of the polling centers.”

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Kari Lake Receives 54 Percent of Sunday Night Ballots from Maricopa County, 69 Percent from Pinal County

Rachel Alexander

Election officials released updated results Sunday evening showing Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake gained ground on frontrunner Democrat Katie Hobbs in Maricopa County by 54.6 to 45.4 percent. In Pinal County, Lake bested Hobbs 69.5 percent to 30.5 percent.

In all, the votes of little more than 97,000 of the estimated 192,900 remaining ballots from Maricopa County were tabulated – meaning about 94,000 ballots remain. In Pinal County, an estimated 10,000 ballots are untabulated.

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Commentary: America’s Electoral System Is Suffering from a Credibility Crisis

Admin

Defying all predictions of a photo finish senate race, Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman won 50.3% of the vote to Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz’s 47.3%. The unexpectedly large margin helped avoid a midterm meltdown. But don’t be deceived; that margin masks major electoral system dysfunction that remains unaddressed.

If the margins had been narrower, things might have looked very different. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf last year vetoed a commonsense measure that would have modernized Pennsylvania’s Depression-era voting laws. As a result, the Commonwealth is saddled with a ponderous mail voting system bolted onto a rickety election code that forbids routine practices like voter ID and pre-processing mail ballots. Those policies secure elections and speed tabulations, but were vetoed by Wolf last year.

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Calls Emerge for Maricopa County Officials to Resign or Be Recalled After Election Problems

Rachel Alexander

Activists are calling for resignations and recalls as Arizonans – along with the nation – await Maricopa County election officials’ announcements of the definitive results from Tuesday’s 2022 general election.

The state’s most populous county said that 30 percent of voting machine tabulation problems, causing lines of up to two hours in places. Maricopa County Member-at-Large Brian Ference says wants Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and Bill Gates, chair of the Maricopa County Supervisors, to resign. Robert Canterbury, who unsuccessfully ran against Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman in 2020, is considering starting a recall against Gates, prompting State Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward to respond, “Let me know how I can help.”

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Commentary: A Post-Election Reflection

Admin

I am an American, but I haven’t set foot in the states for years. Yes, my daily Internet access provides me with the illusion that I’m in touch with life back home and that I know how people are thinking and feeling. But I can’t really be sure at all that I’m getting the right bead on things. 

So when a great many of the American political commentators and podcasters whom I most respect predicted a “red wave” or even a “red tsunami” on Election Day, I thought: Well, I hope so. How could I demur? After all, they’re at the center of the action. I’m not. 

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Mainstream Media Outlets Project Democrat Wins in Two Arizona Races as 390,000 Ballots Remain Uncounted

Neil Jones

Maricopa County continues to drop nightly ballot dumps, with Friday’s results adding another 74,000 votes to the total, allegedly including ballots dropped off on Election Day. Despite predictions that tonight’s dump would swing in Republicans’ favor, Democrats cling to a lead across the significant races.

“They want you to be demoralized. There’s no reason to be. Our path to victory lies in the overwhelmingly red votes that Maricopa County either hasn’t counted or has deliberately chosen not to release. Hold the line,” said the campaign of Republican Gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake.

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No Clear Winner Emerges in Gubernatorial Race as Arizona Vote-Counting Stretches into Night Three

Neil Jones

Maricopa County released another batch of counted ballots Thursday night, which show a slight favor for Democrat gubernatorial nominee Katie Hobbs. However, the gap was not big enough for Hobbs to jet out in front of her Republican opponent, Kari Lake, whose campaign said marks the end of the trail for Hobbs.

” This Maricopa County drop is not nearly what [Katie Hobbs] needed. This ends tomorrow,” tweeted the lake campaign.

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Ric Grenell Predicts Blake Masters Will Win as Latest 75,583 Ballots Come In from Maricopa and Pima Counties

Rachel Alexander

Trump-endorsed Blake Masters pulled closer to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) after the results of counting more ballots were released shortly after 6 p.m. PST the day after the midterm election. Although Kelly took the lead initially on election night, his numbers have been shrinking as the types of ballots being counted last trended toward Republicans. 

Most of the new batch of ballots was early ballots that were dropped off between Friday and the Tuesday election. There were a much larger number of ballots dropped off on election day in Maricopa County than in the 2020 election, 275,000 versus 170,000.

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Gubernatorial Hopefuls Kari Lake and Katie Hobbs Remain Neck and Neck in Night Two of Arizona Vote Counting

Neil Jones

After the Wednesday evening ballot dump by Maricopa County election officials, the race for Arizona’s governor between Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Katie Hobbs is still too close to call. However, Kari Lake’s campaign remains confident her victory will come.

“Good. Now that we’ve gotten out of that way, [Maricopa County] can start counting the voters who dropped their ballots off on Election Day. They will break heavily in our direction. We remain confident about the trajectory of this race,” tweeted Lake’s campaign in response to the new votes.

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State Sen. Sonny Borrelli: Over 21,000 Ballots in Five-Percent Sample Appear Illegally Cast in Maricopa County’s 2020 Election

Rachel Alexander

State Sen. and Majority Whip Sonny Borrelli (R-Havasu City) announced on Friday during a presentation that he has discovered at least 21,202 ballots were likely illegally cast during the 2020 election in Maricopa County. A group of concerned citizens he has been working with examined five percent of the voter registration records from Maricopa County residents who voted, and discovered that 1,298 ballots were cast by dead voters, 17,822 were mismatched ballots, along with thousands of other statutory discrepancies.

Borrelli said the findings, which “are just the tip of the iceberg,” and include many “class two misdemeanors,” will be presented to the new legislature next session. He declared, “This is even more of a reason for Prop. 309 to pass, despite the county recorder saying no.” Borrelli was referring to the comprehensive election integrity measure on the ballot this fall, Arizonans for Voter ID, and taking a dig at Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is looking into whether Richer allegedly used government resources to oppose Prop. 309. Richer started his own PAC for GOP election fraud deniers.

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Judge Rejects Progressive Groups Request for Restraining Order to Shut Down Ballot Drop Box Observers

Rachel Alexander

Voters concerned about ballot harvesting are organizing volunteer shifts observing ballot drop boxes, but some progressive organizations have filed lawsuits attempting to stop them. An organization called Protecting Democracy Project filed a lawsuit this week against the organizers as well as some of the volunteer observers on behalf of the League of Women Voters (LWV). The Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans (AARA) and Voto Latino (VL) also filed a lawsuit.

The LWV lawsuit names Lions of Liberty, which is organizing ballot drop box watching in Yavapai County, its affiliate Yavapai Preparedness Team, Clean Elections USA, which is organizing nationwide efforts, and several individuals and John Does. The AARA and VL lawsuit named similar defendants. The latter lawsuit included a photo of some “Doe Defendants,” revealing three people dressed in normal clothing sitting on lawn chairs. 

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Arizona Voters Reporting Numerous Election Discrepancies Such as Unrequested Ballots on New Election Integrity App VotifyNow

Rachel Alexander

Concerned voters are ramping up efforts to combat voter fraud, and one innovative election integrity company has created an app to report and share suspicious incidents. VotifyNow is a downloadable app that compiles nationwide reports from observers, such as voters in Arizona complaining about receiving unrequested ballots in the mail. On election day, the app will provide users with information about what incidents are being reported in their localities. 

VotifyNow founder Johnny Vieira told The Arizona Sun Times, “Our mission is to restore confidence in elections. We spent the last 16 months developing VotifyNow using very smart code and algorithms to help voters accurately report suspicious incidents with the touch of just a couple buttons. We put this much time into our platform to help users avoid false flags and give them confidence knowing anything they report will be vetted thoroughly before ever being shared with others, unlike other groups and media out there.“

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Maricopa County Approves New Program to Give Small Businesses a Larger Share of Its Business

Neil Jones

Maricopa County announced Monday that the Board of Supervisors approved a new Small Business Advocacy Program (SBAP), which aims to provide these local enterprises with a larger share of county business.

“The program is about making sure that small and local businesses are being given a chance to sell goods and services to the county. The county buys everything from baby diapers to xenon light bulbs, we buy dentists and landscapers, plumbers and engineers – you name it – we probably buy it. It is a Board priority to support small and local businesses, when it makes sense, for purchases that are under $100,000 and not covered under an existing contract,” said the Maricopa County Office of Procurement (MCOP) in an email to the Arizona Sun Times.

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RNC and Arizona GOP Sue Maricopa County over Unfulfilled Public Records Request

Neil Jones

Chairwoman Dr. Kelli Ward of the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced a lawsuit against Maricopa County Tuesday for failing to comply with public records requests (PRR) relating to poll worker staffing.

“After several weeks of negotiations, Maricopa County left us no choice but to sue because Arizonans who want to be poll workers shouldn’t be shut out of the process. With midterms just 35 days away, Arizonans deserve basic transparency about how their elections will be conducted,” said McDaniel and Ward. “This legal offensive is the latest step in Republicans’ ongoing efforts to promote free, fair, and transparent elections in Arizona.”

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Maricopa County Announces ‘Election Command Center’ to Combat Misinformation

The Center Square

Maricopa County, Arizona, has formed what it refers to as an “election command center” in hopes of combatting election misinformation, adding officials will vet journalists who they deem qualified to participate in the events.

A group of six elected officials plus elections and communications professionals have worked together to establish the “2022 Elections Command Center”, according to a press release from the county’s office.

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Maricopa County to Require Press Pass to Cover 2022 Election

Neil Jones

Maricopa County announced Tuesday that it will now require a press pass for media personnel to enter its facilities or cover events related to the 2022 General Election.

“Because of logistical and security considerations, it is impossible to give the public and media limitless access to Members of the Board of Supervisors, the County Recorder and election experts for events such as press conferences and availabilities,” according to Maricopa County.

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As Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward Alleges Maricopa County Broke the Law in the 2022 Primary Election, Groups Launch Drop Box-Watching Operations

Rachel Alexander

The Arizona Legislature was unable to get a bill passed this year clearly banning unmonitored absentee ballot drop boxes, so local activists are organizing schedules of volunteers to watch them, concerned after reports of unusual activity during the primary election this year. Existing law, A.R.S. 16-1005(E), prohibits absentee ballot drop boxes operated by entities other than the government, but legal disputes remain over how much the government is required to monitor them.

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Arizonans Flood Maricopa County Recorder with Requests for ‘Cast Vote Records’ from 2020 Election

Rachel Alexander

Election officials around the country, including the Maricopa County Recorder, saw a flurry of public records requests at the end of August asking for the “cast vote record” (CVR) from the 2020 presidential election. The requests came after My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, who is actively investigating election discrepancies in 2020, urged attendees at his Moment of Truth Summit in August to request them. The CVR reveals the type of ballot used by each voter and how they cast their votes, without exposing their identity.

Walter C. Daugherity, who has a background in computers and engineering, two degrees from Harvard University, and experience in artificial intelligence and quantum computing, submitted a declaration about his analysis of CVRs in a lawsuit filed by Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Trump-endorsed candidate for State Representative Mark Finchem (R-Oro Valley), who is running for Arizona Secretary of State. Their complaint aims to stop the use of electronic voting machine readers in the Nov. 8 election. 

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Counties in Ohio, Tennessee, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and More Flooded with Requests for 2020 Election Records as Mandatory Preservation Window Expires

Just the News

With the recent expiration of the federally mandated 2-year window for preservation of 2020 presidential election records, counties across the country have been inundated with public records requests from Americans concerned about election integrity.

During his “Moment of Truth Summit” last month spotlighting 2020 presidential election irregularities, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell exhorted “every single person in the country” to ask for cast vote records from the election from their local county clerk’s office. His website links to the Ordros Analytics, Inc., website, which provides templates of public records requests for cast vote records.

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Arizona Man Convicted for Illegally Voting in 2020 Election

Peter D'Abrosca

A felon in Arizona has been sentenced to six months in prison after illegally voting in the 2020 election.

“Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that Victor Manuel Aguirre, age 47, of Sahuarita, was convicted and sentenced to prison for illegally casting a ballot in the 2020 General Election on August 29, 2022,” according to a Wednesday release from Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office. 

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Niland: ‘Maricopa County Republicans Do Not Trust Drop Boxes’

Admin

The Voter Reference Foundation (VRF) has said that ballot drop boxes in Arizona’s Maricopa County should be manned with staff from the two major parties, based on the discovery that one of two drop boxes lacked proper surveillance during the primary.

Maricopa County Republican Chairman Mickie Niland said the county’s drop box camera was not recording during the primary and reported the surveillance error, the Foundation said.

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‘Bad’ Signatures Rejected 14 Times More Often During August Primary Election in Maricopa County than During 2020 General Election

Rachel Alexander

In its final canvass report for the 2022 primary election, Maricopa County says it rejected 14 times more signatures than it did in the 2020 general election. This comes on the heels of Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s finding that the county’s standards for signature verification were “insufficient to guard against abuse.”

“Canvass Queen” Liz Harris, so named after conducting an 11-month long independent grassroots audit of the 2020 election in Maricopa County, told The Arizona Sun Times, “The entire voting system needs an entire overhaul. Period.”

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Commentary: After Taking Two Days to Count 20 Percent of Primary Election Votes, Arizona Should Look to Florida’s Voting Reforms

RealClearWire

Until this month, Pennsylvania owned the dubious distinction among states of most embarrassing election management. But given its own lethargy in counting votes in its primary, Arizona has now edged out the Keystone State. While Pennsylvania had problems counting the last portion of votes the evening after its primary, it took Arizona two days to count the last 20% of the vote.

As RealClearPolitics has noted before, Pennsylvania could solve its voting-administration issues by adopting Florida’s voting reforms – but Pennsylvania is hamstrung by a divided government. Arizona does not face this problem, however. For at least the next four months, Arizona will have a Republican state legislature and governor. Arizona’s governor and state legislature should enact Florida-like voting reforms before the November elections to avoid further embarrassment.

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The Phoenix Aviation Department Launches Airport Worker Child Care Scholarship Program

Admin

The Phoenix Aviation Department launched its City of Phoenix Airport Worker Child Care Scholarship Program Aug. 2.

The program supports workers in the aviation industry who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, according to a press release. A $4 million investment with funds from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act strategic plan will fund the child care program for workers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

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‘Maricopa County Transit Slush Fund Tax’ Looks ‘Optimistic’ for Legislative Referral to the Ballot

Rachel Alexander

A transportation bill dubbed the “Maricopa County Transit Slush Fund Tax” by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) is steadily advancing through the legislature, and its supporters say it will probably make it through the Arizona Legislature this year in a referral to the ballot. Senate Bill (SB) 1356 has passed the Senate, the Senate Transportation and Technology Committee, and the House Transportation Committee. Valley Metro’s new CEO Jessica Mefford-Miller said this week about it, “We are cautiously optimistic about SB 1356.”

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True the Vote Testifies to Arizona Legislators Regarding ‘2,000 Mules’ Documentary on Ballot Harvesting, Urges Passage of HB 2289

Rachel Alexander

Two representatives from True the Vote, the election integrity organization whose work using GPS smartphone data to investigate ballot harvesting in Arizona and other states was featured in the recent 2,000 Mules documentary by Dinesh D’Souza, testified during an Arizona Legislative hearing on Tuesday providing further details. Catherine Engelbrecht, the founder and president, and Gregg Phillips, a data expert, drew frequent gasps and clapping, despite a request for no clapping at the beginning. When asked by legislators what Engelbrecht recommended for action, she said pass HB 2289. Sponsored by State Rep. John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction), it bans drop boxes and has passed the House, but has been held up in the Senate. 

Democrats in the legislature tried to interfere with the hearing by forcing a vote on a gun control bill, stalling it for well over an hour. Right Side Broadcasting filmed the hearing live on YouTube, but it was yanked by YouTube by the time it was finished. 

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True the Vote to Present Ballot Harvesting Information to Arizona Republicans

Peter D'Abrosca

A voter integrity organization will present information about ballot harvesting in the 2020 election to a group of Republican law makers next week. 

“On Tuesday, May 31, True the Vote will host a presentation for Arizona State Senate and House Members relating to findings of ballot harvesting that occurred in both Maricopa and Yuma Counties during the 2020 General Election,” the Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus said in a Friday press release. 

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Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake Calls Arizona 2020 Election Audit ‘Death by a Thousand Knife Wounds’

Addison Basurto

When asked what big takeaway there was in the Maricopa County election audit, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake told The Georgia Star News, “There were so many. It’s like death by a thousand paper cuts. I call it death by a thousand knife wounds because these are so much bigger than paper cuts.”

“We had 34,000 votes that were counted two, three or four times, 740,000 ballots with no chain-of-custody. They shouldn’t have even been counted, and it goes on and on. The wrong paper stock was used,” she added. 

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Arizona Gubernatorial Frontrunner Kari Lake Says She Has Confidence in Senate President Karen Fann to Complete Election Audit

Addison Basurto

Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake told The Georgia Star News Friday she maintains confidence in Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, despite some doubts in her ability to adequately complete the 2020 election audit.

“I do have confidence in Karen,” Lake told The Star News. “I’ve seen a few things that have made me pause a bit, but don’t forget, she’s the one who got things going.”

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Former President Trump Slams Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Signals Opposition to Him in U.S. Senate Race

Cooper Moran

Former President Donald Trump slammed Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich for his actions relating to the 2020 election and signaled his opposition to Brnovich’s run to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate.

According to Trump, Brnovich’s lack of results is proof he is “going to kick the can down the road” and “stay in that middle path of non-controversy.”

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Maricopa County Allocates $17 Million in Affordable Housing Projects

The Center Square

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved $17 million in spending to create more affordable housing units.

The money–given to the state by the federal government through the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)–will go toward two separate projects. Of it, $8 million will create 50 new housing units by converting a hotel in central Phoenix. Meanwhile, the other $9 million will support the construction of affordable rental units. 

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Maricopa County Admits They Used AI to Compare Voter Ballot Affidavit Signatures with Signatures on File

Rachel Alexander

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich issued an interim report this past week on his investigation of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election in Arizona, which found “instances of election fraud by individuals who have been or will be prosecuted for various election crimes,” and a couple of days later he learned some more possibly troubling news. Attorneys for Maricopa County told him ballot tabulators used artificial intelligence to determine whether voters’ ballot affidavit signatures matched their signatures on file. 

During an interview with former Trump advisor Steve Bannon on Bannon’s War Room show, Brnovich broke the news. “We got another letter from their lawyer for the first time — and this is not in the report — admitted they are using AI to verify signatures,” he said. “And so the whole signature verification process, is something that I think that, regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, it should be troubling and concerning that they are trying to verify hundreds of thousands of signatures so quickly. And of course that raises the question, how is that even humanly possible?”

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Arizona Attorney General Brnovich Announces Prosecutions After Reviewing Maricopa County Ballot Audit, as Kari Lake Calls to Decertify Election

Rachel Alexander
Mark Brnovich

The highly anticipated first report from Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s investigation into the results of the Maricopa County independent ballot audit are in, and includes criminal prosecutions. Addressed to Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott), who launched the independent audit, the letter referenced the work of his office’s Election Integrity Unit. Brnovich stated, “The EIU’s review has uncovered instances of election fraud by individuals who have been or will be prosecuted for various election crimes.” 

Leading gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who just called for the results of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona and Wisconsin to be reversed, told The Arizona Sun Times, “Today, Attorney General Brnovich confirmed what most of us have known since November 3rd, 2020: The election in Maricopa County was crooked and never should have been certified. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue. It’s an American issue. I look forward to seeing the prosecutions that the Attorney General has in store. It’s time for the perpetrators of this fraud to be held accountable for their actions.”

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Maricopa County Attorney to Resign amid Controversy

The Center Square
Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel

The lead lawyer for the third-largest prosecutorial body in the U.S. will resign at the end of the week, her office announced Monday.

Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel said her last day in office would be Friday. 

“I am confident that the important mission of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will continue,” she said in a statement, offering no explanation for the resignation.

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Two Tools Track Arizona Governments, Reveal Missteps and Waste

Rachel Alexander
Arizona Capitol

It is National Sunshine Week, which celebrates transparency in government, including creating awareness about requesting information from governments through FOIA public record requests. In Arizona, there are two tools provided by state agencies which allow anyone to look online at some of the government spending by state and local governments. Although it is a minimal amount of data, it reveals some missteps and waste. 

The Arizona State Treasurer manages AZCheckbook.com, which provides information about funding the state gets from all sources, including the federal government, and how much it is distributing to schools, cities, and towns. The Arizona Department of Administration operates OpenBooks.AZ.gov, which provides checkbook-level information about individual state expenditures, including on the city and county level.

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Democratic Former Maricopa County Recorder Running for Secretary of State Calls to Impeach Attorney General Brnovich

Rachel Alexander
Adrian Fontes of Arizona

Democratic former Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes, who is running for Arizona Secretary of State, is calling for the Arizona Legislature to impeach Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich. The former county elections chief said it is due to Brnovich’s “grotesque political self-service, abuse of office, and other bad acts.” 

Fontes declared, “It is well past time for Arizona’s legislative leadership to investigate, for possible impeachment proceedings, the increasing instability of our state’s top prosecutor.”

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More Democrats Than Republicans Leave Their Party in Maricopa County, ‘Other’ Now Biggest Party Designation

Rachel Alexander
People voting

The latest voter registration numbers in Maricopa County from February reveal that independents now outnumber both Republicans and Democrats, with 76 more registrations than Republicans. Also according to new data from the Maricopa County Recorder, significantly more Democrats than Republicans left their parties to become independents, 1,331 compared to 1,154 Republicans. The trend favoring Republicans continued with more independents becoming Republicans than Democrats, and more Democrats switching to Republicans than Republicans switching to Democrats.

Independents and Republicans now each make up 34% of voter registrations in the county, with Democrats lagging behind at 30% and Libertarians at .08%. While 806 independents became Republicans in January, only 544 became Democrats. There were 301 Democrats who became Republicans, while only 175 Republicans became Democrats.

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Arizona GOP Votes to Cut Maricopa into Four Counties

The Center Square

Arizona Republicans, stressing the value of local representation and denying retaliation over the 2020 general election controversy, have given early approval to legislation that would split Maricopa County into four counties.

Should Gov. Doug Ducey sign House Bill 2787, it would take the nation’s fourth-largest county and split it into four counties by June 15, 2023. Maricopa County would remain but would be much smaller and centralized around metropolitan Phoenix.

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