WASHINGTON — Arizona Republicans’ deeply biased sham election “audit” keeps indulging in wild conspiracy theories — volunteers are reportedly searching for signs of bamboo due to a completely unfounded theory that ballots came from China — and has now caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice. A top official in the Civil Rights Division sent Arizona Senate President Karen Fann a letter raising concerns about the procedures, noting that reports suggested the ballots were not properly secured in violation of federal law.
“Republicans claim to care about election integrity, and then they unleash this deeply compromised ‘fraudit’ without following proper security procedures, potentially violating the law,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Jessica Post. “Instead of increasing education funding or supporting Arizona’s recovery from the pandemic, Republicans are wasting taxpayer resources on this ridiculous partisan stunt. Joe Biden won Arizona, a result that was already confirmed by two separate, independent, and real audits. The Arizona Senate GOP — and the entire Republican Party — just can’t quit these conspiracy theories.”
The ridiculous audit was biased before it even started, after the GOP caucus hired Cyber Ninjas, a firm run by a “Stop the Steal” supporter, to conduct it. Fann promised the process would be transparent, but Cyber Ninjas fought to keep its plans a secret and the media have had inconsistent access to the venue.
Independent observers at the audit have detailed a confused procedure, with untrained volunteers constantly dealing with shifting rules and many instances of ballots or computer equipment left out in the open, unsecured. One of the volunteers was Anthony Kern, a former legislator who attended the insurrection last January in DC.
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