Arizona's Maricopa County won't use any voting machines confiscated for GOP election 'audit'

Arizona "audit"
(Image credit: Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images)

Maricopa County, Arizona, announced Monday that it will replace all of the voting equipment handed over to private contractors for an election "audit" ordered by Arizona's Republican-controlled Senate. "The voters of Maricopa County can rest assured, the county will never use equipment that could pose a risk to free and fair elections," Maricopa County said in a statement. "As a result, the county will not use the subpoenaed equipment in any future elections."

Maricopa County's Board of Supervisors told Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in a letter Monday that it shares her concerns about potential tampering by the GOP-hired Florida audit contractors, Cyber Ninjas, which is not certified to handle election equipment in the U.S. When the state Senate subpoenaed the machines, compelling the county to turn over about 400 tabulating machines and 2.1 million ballots, that broke the chain of custody. Cyber Ninja's examination of the ballots has been widely panned by election experts as slapdash and lacking in basic security and transparency.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.