Arizona’s secretary of state said that Maricopa County should replace voting machines used during the election.
What We Know:
- This news comes after they have been examined as part of a Republican-led audit. The audit is over the November election because of concerns that the equipment may have been tampered with. The company Cyber Ninjas is accused of not checking the machines sufficiently. Before the voting, Cyber Ninjas didn’t have any experience working in elections.
- Cyber Ninjas is led by a man who has pushed conspiracy theories that support Donald Trump losing the election due to fraud. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has expressed her concerns in a statement. “A critical security tenant has been compromised, and election officials do not know what was done to the machine under Cyber Ninjas’ control.” Additionally, Hobbs states that lack of physical security and transparency means they can’t be certain who accessed the machines.
- Hobbs has recommended that the county replace each of the 385 voting machines and nine vote tabulators. She claims decommissioning and replacing those devices is the safest option because no method exists that ensures their use in the next election. A spokesperson for the New York Times has confirmed that no officials will use any of the returned voting equipment. It is unclear if the county will actually replace the machines.
- Part of the audit process leads the state’s Republican senate to agree to protect the county against financial losses if new equipment is purchased. The state senate and Cyber Ninjas have to review 2.1 million votes in Maricopa County. The official county audit began several weeks ago and is a slow process. The newest GOP review will not change the outcome of the election.
Earlier last week, the Maricopa Board of Supervisors condemned the review and said it was a spectacle that is harming us all.
