Grand Canyon Times

The results of a months' long forensic audit of Maricopa County’s 2020 General Election are scheduled to be released on Friday, Sept. 24, several news outlets have reported.

Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott) and Judiciary Chair Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) will present the report at 1 p.m. during a public hearing next Friday on the Senate floor.

The report come days after Fann told the lead investigative firm in the audit, Cyber Ninjas, to turn over all communications related to the audit after the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a lower court's order for the Senate to make the documents public.

In late August, Fann did receive a partial draft report, but release of the full report was delayed when several investigators tested positive for COVID-19.  

The results also come without all the election information and materials demanded by Senate Republicans through a second round of subpoenas issued in late July. Maricopa never complied with the subpoenas, which Attorney General Mark Brnovich said was in violation of state law.

"We are notifying the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors that it must fully comply with the Senate’s subpoena as required by the law,” Brnovich said in an Aug. 26 statement. “Our courts have spoken. The rule of law must be followed.”

The Republicans demanded that the county turn over routers, or virtual images of them, which an outside contractor insists are needed to complete a forensics audit of the results of the November 2020 elections.

Speaking at a July 15 update hearing on the audit, Doug Logan, president of Cyber Ninjas, said he needed the routers and other election-related materials, held by the county to complete the audit.

Ben Cotton, head of digital security firm CyFIR, involved in the audit, said at the hearing that the routers will help clarify vulnerabilities in the county’s digital election system.

The routers were included in the first round of subpoenas issued by the Senate but were never turned over.

“We need to answer questions so that voters have solid, safe and secure ballots,” Fann said at the hearing. “Don’t know why the county has fought this so hard.”