Maricopa County Scrapping Voting Machines Used In GOP Audit

Maricopa County announced Monday it would replace all of the voting machines used in the 2020 Republican-led election audit due to concerns the handlers of the equipment were allegedly “not certified” and that the systems could be “compromised.”

“The voters of Maricopa County can rest assured, the County will never use equipment that could pose a risk to free and fair elections,” the county said in a statement.

Maricopa County will never use compromised equipment that could pose a risk to free and fair elections. As a result, the County will not use the tabulation equipment subpoenaed by the Arizona Senate in any future elections. Read more: https://t.co/47bg4J00MG

— Maricopa County (@maricopacounty) June 28, 2021

Democratic Arizona Sec. of State Kate Hobbs sent a letter to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in May expressing concerns about the election equipment that was subpoenaed by the state.

“I have grave concerns regarding the security and integrity of these machines, given that the chain of custody, a critical security tenet, has been compromised and election officials do not know what was done to the machines while under Cyber Ninjas’ control,” Hobbs wrote.

Hobbs alleged the “loss of custody” could jeopardize the integrity of the machines and future elections. Hobbs said she believes once “election officials lose custody and control over voting systems and components, those devices should not be reused in future elections.”

Maricopa Deputy County Attorney Joseph E. La Rue responded to Hobbs’ letter, noting “the Board shares your concerns” about “any future use by Maricopa County of the election equipment that was subpoenaed by the Arizona Senate, because they placed it under control of persons not certified to handle election equipment in the United States, such as the Cyber Ninjas and others.”

“Maricopa County will not use the subpoenaed election equipment in any future election.” (RELATED: DOJ Expresses Concern Arizona Audit Is Violating Election Law)

The county turned over several Dominion Voting Systems machines, along with more than two million ballots and voter information in regard to the presidential election audit.

Audit Update: Paper examination and counting are finished today. Thank you to all the amazing Arizona volunteers who made this audit possible! ????????

— Maricopa Arizona Audit (@ArizonaAudit) June 26, 2021

The state senate handed the machines over to Cyber Ninjas, the firm that oversaw the audit process. Cyber Ninja CEO, Doug Logan, has claimed the 2020 election was stolen despite no evidence, according to Arizona Central. Logan is also an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump.

A state and county audit has yet to find evidence of any irregularities or issues with the voting machines but official results will likely not be released until late July or early August, according to Arizona Central.