Justice Department warns Arizona Senate president of civil rights violations in 2020 election audit
The Justice Department on Wednesday issued a warning in the Republican-run Arizona Senate-ordered audit of the 2020 election ballots, saying the audit could be in violation of federal voting and civil rights laws.
The warning comes amid scrutiny over the audit of nearly 2.1 million ballots from Arizona’s largest county, Maricopa, where election officials previously found no evidence of widespread voter fraud or other issues during the state’s 2020 presidential election. The review which perpetuates the falsehood that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump has been decried by both Maricopa County’s Board of Supervisors, which is majority Republican, and the Arizona secretary of state, who is a Democrat. The results of the election have long been certified by the secretary of state.
The DOJ is now getting involved in the Arizona forensic audit, saying they are monitoring the audit for potential violations of federal law:
DAILY CALLER – The Department of Justice expressed concern that the ongoing audit of 2020 election results in Arizona may violate election law and lead to voter intimidation.
The Department notified Republican State Senate President Karen Fann on Wednesday that it was monitoring the state’s audit of 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County, Arizona, in 2020, according to the Associated Press. DOJ specifically worried that outsourcing the audit to a third-party contractor may violate federal election law that requires elections officials to control ballots for 22 months after an election.
Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel sent a letter to Gov. Doug Ducey on Friday urging him to veto a bill that would make sweeping reforms to Arizona’s civil forfeiture laws and, in many cases, make it more difficult for the government to keep seized property without a criminal conviction.
House Bill 2810 passed the Senate almost unanimously on a 29-1 vote last week and now sits on Ducey s desk where it will either be signed into law, vetoed or passed into law without the governor s signature after a couple more days.
In the letter, Adel alleges that HB 2810 would place Arizona at greater risk to drug cartels and human trafficking while allowing crime syndicates to run rampant, should it be passed into law.
Arizona Supreme Court overturns law on capping restitution amounts
PHOENIX (AP) - On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned a state law limiting restitution awards for economic losses caused by certain criminal driving offenses that cause another person to be killed or seriously injured.
A 2006 law imposed a $10,000 cap on criminal restitution in those cases. On Tuesday, the higher court said that violated a right to prompt and full restitution under Victims’ Bill of Rights protections in the Arizona Constitution.
The justices upheld a Court of Appeals decision that reversed a Maricopa County Superior Court judge’s ruling that set a man’s restitution order at $10,000, down from the over $61,000 amount set by a Phoenix Municipal Court judge.