- Arizona Senate Republicans are demanding Maricopa County turn over routers used during the 2020 election for the ongoing audit.
- The GOP-controlled county board of supervisors has rebuked the audit and pledged to stop producing materials for the review.
- Audit leaders also subpoenaed Dominion Voting Systems Inc., demanding access to the company’s tabulators.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Two top Arizona Senate Republicans issued new subpoenas Monday night for more election materials in the monthslong “audit” of Maricopa County’s 2020 election results, just days after former President Donald Trump gave a speech in Phoenix full of debunked conspiracy theories about his loss.
On Monday, more than three months into the review that began in April, state Senate President Karen Fann, who has spearheaded the controversial effort since its inception, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Warren Petersen demanded the Republican-controlled county hand over its routers as well as envelopes from all mail-in ballots and detailed voter registration records.
The GOP-controlled Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, which opposes the audit, has pledged to stop producing materials for the Senate’s review, arguing the county has already handed over all relevant resources for the recount, including 2.1 million ballots, hundreds of counting machines, and massive amounts of data.
Those materials were reviewed by Cyber Ninjas, a private firm run by a Trump supporter that was chosen by state Senate Republicans to carry out another count of Maricopa County’s ballots, after county Republicans certified Biden’s win.
President Joe Biden won by Maricopa County by 45,000 votes.
In addition to subpoenaing the county routers, Fann and Petersen also targeted Dominion Voting Systems Inc., the manufacturer of the county’s voting machines which has been the target of false conspiracy theories about the security of its machines since November. The new subpoena demands that Dominion give audit contractors access to all tabulators used in Maricopa County.
In a May statement, Dominion said releasing company property to an “unaccredited, biased, and plainly unreliable actor such as Cyber Ninjas would be reckless” and cause “irreparable damage” to both Dominion and the election security interests of the country.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is also resisting the new demands. A spokesman for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors told Insider the board will review the materials requested with legal counsel and respond in the coming days.
Another spokesperson for the board told the Associated Press the county “has already provided everything competent auditors would need to confirm the accuracy and security of the 2020 election.”
The state has to replace the county’s voting machines for roughly $3 million, amid concerns that Cyber Ninjas cannot ensure the machines weren’t tampered with during the audit. Turning over the routers, as well, poses an additional financial and operational risk for Maricopa County. According to the Arizona Mirror, replacing the routers, if necessary, would cost another $6 million.
But Fann may not be able to enforce the subpoenas, according to the AP. The Senate president doesn’t have the Republican support required to hold county officials in contempt if they refuse to produce the materials.
As the process enters its fourth month, the effort is losing support.
Neither Cyber Ninjas nor Fann immediately responded to Insider’s request for comment.
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