Arizona Attorney General’s Office Issued Warnings Months Before the Election About Maricopa County Ballot Signature Verification

Correspondence from Arizona’s Office of the Attorney General months before the November 2022 general election warned of issues with Maricopa County’s signature verification of mail-in ballots.

The first letter came from Attorney General Mark Brnovich on April 16, 2022, and was directed to Senate President Karen Fann as an interim report of the Maricopa County November 3, 2020, general election.

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Arizona Elections Procedures Manual Has No Provision for Certifying Third-Party Vendor Equipment Used for Signature Verification in Maricopa County

The State of Arizona Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) for 2019 that prescribes the Secretary of State’s rules for running an election has no provision for qualifying or certifying the equipment a third-party vendor uses for ballot signature verification in Maricopa County.

According to state law A.R.S. 16-452, the secretary of state is responsible for prescribing in an official instructions and procedures manual the rules to achieve and maintain the maximum degree of correctness, impartiality, uniformity and efficiency on the procedures for early voting and voting as well as producing, distributing, collecting, county, tabulating and storing ballots.

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Kari Lake Lawsuit Exposes Election Process Complexities in Maricopa County, Reliance on Third-Party Vendor

A lawsuit filed Friday by Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake contesting the results in the November 8, 2022, election in Maricopa County exposes, among other things, the complexities of the process for mail-in and drop-box ballots and the county’s reliance on a third-party vendor for essential election functions.

The 70-page complaint filed by Lake named Democratic gubernatorial opponent Katie Hobbs who is the Secretary of State of Arizona who certified the election in her favor on December 5, as well as Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer as an officer in charge of elections, Maricopa County Director of Elections for Election Day and Emergency Voting Scott Jarrett and the five members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

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Trump Reserved as Results Came In to Mar-a-Lago Election Night Event

PALM BEACH, Florida – As the November 8, 2022, election night results rolled in to Mar-a-Lago, the resort membership club and primary residence of 45th U.S. President Donald J. Trump, he was uncharacteristically reserved in his comments and interactions with those in attendance.

With some polls closing as early as 7 p.m. Eastern time, including the swing state of Georgia, it became evident early on in the evening that the forecasted “red tsunami” was going to fall well short of predictions.

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