Grand Canyon Times

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is asking the Maricopa County supervisors for additional information in light of the findings of the months-long audit of the November 2020 election results in Maricopa County.

The audit reaffirmed President Joe Biden's victory in the county over former President Donald Trump. 

In a letter to county officials dated Sept. 27, Brnovich said that his Elections Integrity Unit has begun a review of the audit report and the materials sent to his office by Senate Republicans.

"In light of our review, as well as the expectation the review may lead to further investigation or litigation, this letter is to provide notice to Maricopa County that a litigation hold should be in effect regarding all potentially relevant materials related to the 2020 general election, as well as potentially relevant materials related to the 2020 primary election and 2020 presidential preference election," the letter states.

In a statement released after the letter was sent, Brnovich said that “the Arizona Senate’s report that was released Sept. 24 raises some serious questions regarding the 2020 election. Arizonans can be assured our office will conduct a thorough review of the information we receive.”

The audit findings were released to Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott) and judiciary chair Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert). The lead investigator in the audit was Cyber Ninjas of Florida.

The audit that reaffirmed Biden’s 45,000-vote win over Trump in the county. Biden was the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry Arizona since 1996.

But in a Sept. 25 letter to Brnovich, Fann wrote that “several of the findings are concerning because they suggest less-than-perfect adherence to Arizona’s standards and best practices.”

She highlighted several areas for reform including, improving signature verification process, maintaining voter rolls, preserving all evidence for future audits, giving election officials exclusive access to vote counting machines, and ensuring that strict cyber security protocols are always followed.

“Arizona voters deserve an unimpeachable electoral process – and the state Senate is already working hard on new legislation to deliver that,” Fann wrote.

The information Brnovich asked the county to preserve includes hard copies of documents, tangible items and electronically stored information; electronic communications, electronic data, all physical recordings, all video recording related to the election, building access records to all offices related to the election.