Maricopa County Responds To AG’s Letter On Election Problems, Claim Not A Single Voter Disenfranchised

Thomas Liddy, Maricopa County’s chief civil division attorney, responded Sunday to a letter from Arizona’s outgoing Attorney General Mark Brnovich ordering county officials to submit a report on its handling of the 2022 election.

Maricopa County, one of the most populous counties in the nation, had notable problems during the November 8 election, including printer and tabulation machine-related issues in at least 70 of the county’s 223 polling locations.

Liddy conceded in the letter that the county had issues on Election Day, but claimed not a single voter was disenfranchised, writing that “every lawful voter was still able to cast his or her ballot.”

“No voter was disenfranchised because of the difficulty the County experienced with some of its printers,” Liddy claimed. “Every voter was provided a ballot by which he or she could record their votes, and all such ballots cast by lawful voters were tabulated, whether in the vote center or at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center.”

“The printing issues, leading to precinct-based tabulators being unable to tabulate some of the votes cast, was regrettable,” the attorney added. “But it did not violate the uniformity statutes, and any suggestion that it did is unfounded.”

The day after Liddy’s letter was sent to the AG’s office, Maricopa County’s Board of Supervisors approved the canvass of the 2022 general election after taking on comments from the public, which included upset voters and poll observers.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and her team have previously raised issue with Liddy.

We’ve asked Maricopa County for answers.

This is what we get in return.pic.twitter.com/ENKq4hTnMc

— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) November 18, 2022

The letter from Brnovich’s office said there is evidence, including first-hand witness accounts, of “statutory violations” in the contest, which Katie Hobbs oversees as secretary of state. Hobbs, a Democrat, is the projected winner of the Arizona gubernatorial contest against Lake.

Lake last week filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County officials, similarly alleging election law violations. The Republican is also demanding records related to the Election Day printer issues.

“The filing today was basically just a way for the courts to pressure Maricopa County into giving us public records we have been asking for,” Lake said Wednesday.

The candidate blasted county officials over the treatment of “Election Day voters,” which included those printer issues and “three-hour lines.”

“We cannot allow an election like this to stand,” Lake asserted.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and Arizona attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh a day earlier filed a lawsuit in State Superior Court in Maricopa County against election officials, alleging “a host of errors and inaccuracies” during the 2022 election process, The Daily Wire reported.

“Pervasive errors by our election officials resulted in the disenfranchisement of countless Arizonans who had their voices silenced,” Hamadeh said in a statement. “Arizonans deserve to have an election system that is transparent and fair and right now we have neither. Today’s challenge is the only way to provide accountability and restore confidence in our broken election system.”