Grand Canyon Times

Arizona state Sen. Kelly Townsend (R-Mesa) has been turned down by Attorney General Mark Brnovich in her request that his office investigate “multiple questions raised by the [Maricopa County] audit report.”

“It’s the law,” Townsend told the Grand Canyon Times. “The attorney general must investigate a Senate Bill 1487 complaint. It’s a ‘shall.’ It’s not discretionary.”

On her Facebook page, Townsend listed multiple concerns she has with the management of the 2020 general election in Maricopa County, concerns she says that were raised both by a preliminary report released in the summer and final report presented to Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott) and Judiciary Chairman Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) on Sept. 24.

Townsend asked Brnovich questions about the kinds of paper used for ballots that she alleges were not authorized, ballots that bled through and caused overvoting and about the county’s compliance with signature verification requirements.

“I want to know what laws were broken, who broke them and who will be held accountable,” she wrote on Facebook.

In a letter, the Attorney General’s Office responded to Townsend’s request noting that it has already agreed with Fann’s request to conduct an investigation into the findings of the audit.

“In contrast, to fully investigate the issues raised by the Senate audit, the office will need to engage in a highly fact-intensive investigation, not make purely legal determinations,” the letter said. “The office must therefore respectfully deny your request to treat its investigation as an S.B. 1487 investigation—which could seriously and unnecessarily hamper the office’s investigative process.”

In response, Townsend told the Grand Canyon Times that “I'm going to be reaching out to our Legislative Council [research committee] to request an opinion as to whether or not he is able to do that.”

In a Sept. 27 letter to Maricopa County officials, 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.

A months-long recount of the Maricopa County presidential vote by Cyber Ninja increased President Joe Biden's official 45,000-vote margin over former President Donald Trump. Trump, the first Republican presidential candidate to lose Arizona since 1996, has alleged voter fraud without any proof.