ARIZONA NEWS

Maricopa County audit report delayed due to COVID-19 outbreak

Aug 23, 2021, 1:09 PM | Updated: 1:13 pm
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)...
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

PHOENIX — The Arizona Senate will not receive the full audit report of 2020 Maricopa County election results on Monday after three members of the audit team, including Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan, contracted COVID-19 and are battling the virus.

Senate President Karen Fann said only a portion of the draft report will be delivered Monday.

The full report will be ready and available to the public after the remainder of the draft is submitted and the Senate’s legal team can review it, according to Fann. A date for the release of the full report was not specified.

“The team expected to have the full draft ready for the Senate today, but unfortunately Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan and two other members of the five-person audit team have tested positive for COVID-19 and are quite sick,” Fann said in a statement.

The delay adds more time to an audit that hit the four-month mark on Monday.

Republicans in the state Senate launched the review of the county ballots on April 23 in an effort to find irregularities that could support former President Trump’s false claims of a stolen election.

The lawmakers did so despite the fact that the ballots had been counted and audited twice already. Courts in Arizona and other 2020 battleground states have rejected dozens of election suits as judges found no evidence to support claims of fraud.

The review included a hand count of ballots, the analysis of voter data and a review of ballot-counting machines.

The operation got off to a rocky start on day one. A journalist pointed out that workers were using blue pens in violation of a fundamental rule of election administration.

Blue and black pens are strictly prohibited near ballots because those are the colors voters are told to use, creating the potential for workers to manipulate the count.

Days later, a former Republican state lawmaker who lost his reelection bid — and who would have been a Trump elector to the Electoral College had Trump won — was among the workers counting ballots.

The auditors chased conspiracy theories, for a time shining ultraviolet lights to look for watermarks on ballots and taking high-resolution photographs to look for evidence, such as bamboo fibers in the paper, that fraudulent ballots from Asia were slipped into the stack.

Logan ended months of silence about who was paying him when he said earlier this month a whopping $5.7 million had been contributed by political groups run by prominent Trump supporters including Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell, Patrick Byrne and correspondents from One America News Network. The figure dwarfs the $150,000 to be paid by the Senate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.

Arizona News

(Facebook Photo/Bike Easy)...
KTAR.com

Chandler wants residents to have their say on protected bike lanes

An East Valley city is asking for feedback through on online survey regarding the potential installation of protected bicycle lanes.
1 day ago
(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)...
Associated Press

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoes bill to ban tents in public places

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill Thursday that would have prohibited people from setting up tents or tarps in public areas.
1 day ago
This undated image provided by Raman and Puja Kalra shows their Dairy Queen franchise restaurant in...
Associated Press

Arizona Dairy Queen on the hunt for missing red spoon statue

The owners of a Dairy Queen in Phoenix remain perplexed as to why someone would steal the giant red spoon that adorned their restaurant.
1 day ago
(Facebook Photo/City of Phoenix, AZ USA)...
KTAR.com

Population growth in Maricopa County was largest in nation for second consecutive year

For the second consecutive year, more people have been moving to Maricopa County than any other county in the nation.
1 day ago
(AP Photo/Reba Saldanha, File)...
KTAR.com

Arizona politicians react to indictment of former President Donald Trump

Arizona politicians were quick to speak on the unprecedented news of Donald Trump's indictment, with reactions split along party lines.
1 day ago
(Google Maps Screenshot)...
Taylor Kinnerup

Arizona’s News Roundup: Phoenix business owners win homelessness suit, Hobbs’ staffer resigns

KTAR’s Arizona’s News Roundup this week catches you up on homeless encampment updates, a change in the governor's office and more.
1 day ago

Sponsored Articles

(Photo: OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center)...

Here’s what you need to know about OCD and where to find help

It's fair to say that most people know what obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders generally are, but there's a lot more information than meets the eye about a mental health diagnosis that affects about one in every 100 adults in the United States.
...
Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.
(Pexels Photo)...

Sports gambling can be fun for adults, but it’s a dangerous game for children

While adults may find that sports gambling is a way to enhance the experience with more than just fandom on the line, it can be a dangerous proposition if children get involved in the activity.
Maricopa County audit report delayed due to COVID-19 outbreak