Brnovich says some claims of dead voters in 2020 election in Maricopa County were ‘absurd’
Aug 1, 2022, 4:19 PM | Updated: 5:14 pm
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich told Senate President Karen Fann on Monday in a letter that almost all claims of dead voters participating in the 2020 election were without merit.
“Some were so absurd the names and birthdates didn’t even match the deceased, and others included dates of death after the election,” Brnovich said.
“While our office has successfully prosecuted other instances of dead voters, these cases were ultimately determined to be isolated instances.”
Brnovich said his office investigated 282 cases brought forth by Fann and the Senate following the Cyber Ninjas review last year of Maricopa County election results.
The complaint alleged the individuals voted in the November 2020 election and were dead before Oct. 5. Only one case was found to have a dead voter at the time of the election.
“Our agents investigated all individuals that Cyber Ninjas reported as dead and many were very surprised to learn they were allegedly deceased,” Brnovich said.
Fann said she was grateful for Brnovich’s work investigating the claims.
“We’re thankful for the tireless work from Attorney General Mark Brnovich and his entire team while answering some tough questions from voters and lawmakers who had grave concerns over how the 2020 general election was conducted in Arizona,” Fann said.
“They asked us to do the hard work of fact finding, and we are delivering the facts.”
The letter came a day before the primary election in Arizona, where Brnovich is running for U.S. Senate.
Brnovich has been polling third for Republicans in the race.
He’s notably been behind front-runner Blake Masters, who received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Trump lauded Masters’ position that the 2020 election was rigged, a key reason behind the backing, which came in June.
Brnovich has shied away from Trump’s prodding into taking substantive action regarding the unfounded assertions.
Brnovich provided an initial update to Senate President Karen Fann on his office’s investigation into election procedures stemming from the 2020 election in Maricopa County in April.
Brnovich, in a letter to Fann at the time, alleged that the investigation uncovered “serious vulnerabilities” regarding election procedures but provided no evidence that the results from the state’s most populous county were altered by widespread fraud.
“We supported the Arizona Senate’s ability to conduct an audit of Maricopa County’s elections and understand the importance of reviewing the results,” Brnovich said.
“However, allegations of widespread deceased voters from the Senate audit and other complaints received by the EIU are insufficient and not corroborated.”