Drafts of audit report confirm Biden defeated Trump in Maricopa County


The controversial audit of Maricopa County's 2020 presidential vote confirmed that Joe Biden won Arizona by thousands of votes in November, according to draft versions of a report on the hand count.
President Biden won the state thanks to strong numbers in Maricopa County. Former President Donald Trump and his allies falsely claimed there was widespread voter fraud in the election, and the GOP-led Arizona state Senate stepped in and initiated an audit of Maricopa County. They hired a company called Cyber Ninjas to carry out a hand recount of the county's votes, despite Cyber Ninjas having no experience with election audits. It took several months to complete the hand count, due to delays like a COVID-19 outbreak.
The final report from Cyber Ninjas will be released on Friday afternoon, but multiple drafts in circulation on Thursday show that the audit confirms Biden won Maricopa County and Trump lost, The Arizona Republic reports. Biden even ended up doing better with the new hand count — Maricopa County certified Trump losing by 45,109 votes, while the draft reports say he lost by 45,469 votes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Still, the draft reports claim that the election results are inconclusive and offer recommendations on how the state can change its elections law. A draft viewed by the Republic "minimized" the ballot counts and focused instead on "issues that raise questions about the election process and voter integrity," the newspaper reports, raising red flags among several election analysts.
Throughout the purported audit, the GOP-majority Maricopa County Board of Supervisors stood by the county's certification of the election results and slammed efforts to paint it as fraudulent. In a statement, board Chairman Jack Sellers said the draft reports show that "the tabulation equipment counted the ballots as they were designed to do, and the results reflect the will of the voters. That should be the end of the story. Everything else is just noise. But I'm sure it won't be. Board members told the truth in the face of angry phone calls and emails fueled by a coordinated campaign to shake Americans' faith in the power of their vote. Will they accept the truth now?"
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Easy Money: the Charles Ponzi Story – an 'enlightening' podcast
The Week Recommends Apple Original podcast explores the 'fascinating' tale of the man who gave the investment scam its name
-
See the bright lights from these 7 big-city hotels
The Week Recommends Immerse yourself in culture, history and nightlife
-
Scientists want to regrow human limbs. Salamanders could lead the way.
Under the radar Humans may already have the genetic mechanism necessary
-
The ambiguous legal state of ectopic pregnancy care
The Explainer Rep. Kat Cammack's accusations of 'fearmongering' are the latest example of how mixed messages are complicating the debate around abortion
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
ICE: Targeting essential workers
Feature After a brief pause, the Trump administration resumes its mass deportation plan
-
'No Kings': A turning point for the resistance?
Feature Millions of Americans nationwide took to the streets to protest against the Trump administration
-
Trump: Making the military into a 'partisan militia'?
Feature Donald Trump held a military parade just days after sending troops to stop protests in Los Angeles
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Is the US sliding into autocracy?
Talking Point Donald Trump's use of federal troops on home ground, dismissal of dissent and 'braggadocious' military posturing are all symptoms of a shifting political culture