Maricopa County To Replace All Voting Equipment After Audit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors announced on Monday that it will not use any voting equipment that the county was required to hand over to the conservative firm Cyber Ninjas in future elections. This is the latest development in a continuing audit effort promoted by state Senate Republicans based on unfounded claims of voter fraud in the state. The unconstitutional audit that began in April is being conducted by four outside firms hired by Senate Republicans, and not one of them is certified to handle voting equipment. The founder of one of the firms, Cyber Ninjas Inc., has promoted unfounded allegations that the election was stolen from Donald Trump and claims Dominion voting machines were involved in a conspiracy to change the election results.

The decision comes in response to concerns raised by Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) in May that the election machines handled by Cyber Ninjas Inc. were no longer secure. In a letter to Maricopa County election officials, Hobbs wrote that official observers from her office were not allowed to remain in the room while the company examined the machines, meaning they were unable to “ensure physical security and proper chain of custody” of the equipment. She recommended that the county replace all voting machines that were handed over to the firm — a total of $6 million worth of equipment.  

Read the letter from the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors here.