{"id":845591,"date":"2021-10-04T14:43:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-04T18:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=845591"},"modified":"2021-10-04T14:43:33","modified_gmt":"2021-10-04T18:43:33","slug":"fact-check-did-maricopa-county-delete-all-of-its-2020-election-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-did-maricopa-county-delete-all-of-its-2020-election-results\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT CHECK: Did Maricopa County Delete All Of Its 2020 Election Results?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-check-did-maricopa-county-delete-all-of-its-2020-election-results%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=845591&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>A post <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/maricopacounty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shared on Twitter<\/a> claims someone from Maricopa County intentionally deleted all the 2020 election result records the day before an audit of those results began.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"9.4487179487179\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Someone from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/maricopacounty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@maricopacounty<\/a> intentionally went into the system and chose to delete all records used for election results.<\/p>\n<p>This was a day before the audit started<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Columnated Ruins- Liberty Legion (@DominofromAZ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DominofromAZ\/status\/1441524983746887688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 24, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span><strong>Verdict: False<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>While some digital records related to the 2020 election were moved to archival databases, no records were permanently deleted, according to Maricopa County election officials.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span>Fact Check<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cyber Ninjas, the firm <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/elections-election-recounts-phoenix-election-2020-business-396ea4662f8c213da010c0014ca97c6c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contracted<\/a> by the Republican-controlled state Senate to lead an audit of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/sAAu6O33rNE?t=923\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">presented<\/a> the findings of its report on Sept. 24. The report confirmed President Joe Biden\u2019s win in Maricopa County, the state\u2019s most populous county, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2021\/09\/25\/arizona-ballot-audit-latest\/5863561001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USA Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com\/azfamily.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/e\/19\/e1967608-1d99-11ec-9f0f-c394f7c3dc5f\/614e7177ca92c.pdf.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cyber Ninjas report<\/a> claimed that a large number of files stored on the Election Management System (EMS) Server and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.interscanllc.com\/hipro1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">HiPro Scanner<\/a> machines, including \u201cballot images, election related databases, result files, and log files\u201d had been deleted. It said that \u201cthese files would have aided in our review and analysis of the election systems as part of the audit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following the release of the Cyber Ninjas audit report, one Twitter user made a similar allegation. \u201cSomeone from @maricopacounty intentionally went into the system and chose to delete all records used for election results,\u201d reads a viral Sept. 24 tweet. \u201cThis was a day before the audit started.\u201d <span><span><a href=\"https:\/\/checkyourfact.com\/2021\/09\/28\/fact-check-17000-duplicate-votes-maricopa-county-audit-arizona\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Were Over 17,000 Duplicate Votes Found In The Maricopa County Audit?)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This claim, however, is inaccurate. Check Your Fact found no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=All+records+in+2020+election+maricopa+county+deleted&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS820US820&amp;oq=All+records+in+2020+election+maricopa+county+deleted&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57.16093j0j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">credible news reporting<\/a> about all the county\u2019s election records being deleted. The timing of the tweet suggests it may have been prompted by the release of the Cyber Ninjas report, but the report does not claim all the records were deleted, only some, and it alleges these items were deleted between October 2020 and March 2021. The Cyber Ninjas audit did not officially begin until late April, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2021\/04\/23\/maricopa-county-election-audit-begins-friday-big-questions-unanswered\/7347328002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Arizona Republic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Officials from Maricopa County denied the claim that any digital records from the 2020 election have been deleted, stating in a tweet that the records had simply been moved to archival databases due to storage limitations on the servers. \u201cThis is misleading,\u201d reads a tweet from Maricopa County\u2019s verified Twitter account about the claim. \u201cAs stated above, servers have space limitations. Files are not deleted; they are archived. The Senate never subpoenaed our EMS archives.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"11.15625\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">CLAIM: Election files deleted<\/p>\n<p>BOTTOM LINE: This is misleading. As stated above, servers have space limitations. Files are not deleted; they are archived. The Senate never subpoenaed our EMS archives.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Maricopa County (@maricopacounty) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/maricopacounty\/status\/1441490479456022533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 24, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The statement shared on Twitter noted that some of the activity observed on the servers following the election was done to prepare them for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2021\/02\/23\/maricopa-countys-election-audits-show-2020-votes-counted-correctly\/4550644001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">previous<\/a> independent audit that was conducted in February.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Election Management System (EMS) database does not store election information forever,\u201d reads the statement. \u201cThat\u2019s what archives are for. The Feb 2nd activity referenced in the report was simply standard practice in the data archival process. The EMS server needed to be readied so our certified auditors could test the equipment for accuracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maricopa County officials have previously denied similar claims. In May, officials from the Maricopa County Elections Department sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maricopa.gov\/DocumentCenter\/View\/68971\/Final-Technical-Response-Letter-with-Exhibits-5172021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">17-page letter<\/a> to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors refuting several accusations of malpractice in relation to the 2020 election, including the allegation that they deleted various files related to the election. The letter likewise stated the purportedly deleted files were not deleted but simply moved to archival storage devices.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe purpose of moving election databases and results from RTR [Results Tally &amp; Reporting] is to clear results from a previous election before starting a new election,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maricopa.gov\/DocumentCenter\/View\/68971\/Final-Technical-Response-Letter-with-Exhibits-5172021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">document<\/a> explains. \u201cIt is a legitimate practice to move database files within the Dominion EMS application to backup storage devices prior to creating new election configurations to allow efficient operation during each election cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dominionvoting.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dominion Voting Systems<\/a> hardware and software were utilized by Maricopa County election officials for the 2020 election, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azmirror.com\/2020\/11\/17\/maricopa-county-vendor-dominion-voting-systems-at-center-of-false-conspiracies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AZ Mirror<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2021\/02\/23\/maricopa-countys-election-audits-show-2020-votes-counted-correctly\/4550644001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Arizona Republic<\/a> reported that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maricopa.gov\/5681\/Elections-Equipment-Audit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">previous audits<\/a> conducted by independent auditors authorized by Maricopa County found that the county\u2019s ballots were counted correctly during the 2020 election. Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr said in December that the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread fraud in the election, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/barr-no-widespread-election-fraud-b1f1488796c9a98c4b1a9061a6c7f49d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A post shared on Twitter claims someone from Maricopa County intentionally deleted all the 2020 election result records the day before an audit of those results began. Someone from @maricopacounty &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-845591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}