Experts raise concerns about processes, transparency as election audit begins
As the Arizona Senate’s historic recount and audit of the 2020 general election in Maricopa County kicked off, outside the watchful eye of journalists who were banned from attending, election integrity experts raised a number of concerns about what they deemed an alarming lack of policies or knowledge of proper procedures by the auditing team.
After months of legal battles and various other setbacks, the Senate on Friday morning began its long-promised probe into the 2020 election, which Senate President Karen Fann ordered in December.
No credible evidence has ever emerged indicating fraud, malfeasance or inaccurate counts in the election in Maricopa County. A partial hand count of about 8,100 ballots in November showed a perfect match with the results from the county’s tabulation machines, a forensic audit the county ordered of its machines showed no problems and more than a half dozen lawsuits ch
Election observers and voting rights advocates have said the process lacks independent oversight and could be used to further baseless claims about the 2020 election.
Black and blue ink are the only colors the Maricopa County election machines can read.
That s why it mattered when a reporter from The Arizona Republic questioned why counters for the hand recount of the county s 2020 general election were equipped with blue pens: Blue ink can alter a ballot, causing it to be discarded, or confusing the voter s intent.
Based partly on that, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury ordered a temporary halt to the audit, which started Friday morning at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The ink issue is an important part of election integrity.
Here are the roles the different colors play, according to elections officials:
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