The report contained six main findings. It was based on 637 pages of evidence, consisting primarily of transcripts of meetings of the Pinal County supervisors, emails, reports, and articles.
Two of the findings related to Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkner, who appointed the law firm of Coppersmith & Brockelman PLC to analyze the 2022 primary election results. However, that firm also represents Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, an election fraud denier who has fought attempts to uncover corruption in the elections. It was founded by Sam Coppersmith, who has previously served as chair for the Arizona Democratic Party. The team was concerned about why Volkner chose a firm with conflicts.
The team recommended, “At a minimum, candidates who lost their elections statewide and in Pinal County should subpoena to see the communications records between Katie Hobbs, Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer and the firm used by both of them for elections, Coppersmith & Brockelman PLC.”
The team found regarding Volkner, “It appears that the County Attorney’s Office now effectively controls all elections in Pinal County and will fight fiercely, using his interpretations of state and county laws, to ensure there is no verification of the internal workings of these machines by a full hand count.”
The report recommended, “Kent Volkmer in his capacity as Pinal County Attorney should be investigated to the fullest extent allowable under the law.”
The report was skeptical of Volkner stating during a meeting that it would take days or weeks to hand count ballots. The team responded in its report, “Ridiculous comment on face value. Given the correct procedure and personnel with observers, a full hand count could have taken place within 48 to 72 hours. Our ancestors did it successfully on election night 40 years ago.”
A third finding in the report compiled a list of Election Day problems, from “multiple problems with these machines receiving re-programming on election day to multiple poll books not functioning correctly.” The team said the election must be hand-counted to fix this issue, and “source codes and super user or root passwords must be given to independent IT experts for analysis.”
The report included testimony from an election worker who said they were instructed to help tear up Republican ballots that had been double-voted or scanned twice through the tabulators. The election worker admitted no Democratic ballots were ripped up.
“I don’t believe the double ballot issue involved the Democrats because other poll workers assisted me with tearing up mail in ballots but the ballots I tore up were all RED,” the ballot worker said.
The team responded in the report, “This is evidence of nefarious activity. These mistakes always affect GOP Candidates. Why wasn’t this referred to Sheriff Lamb for investigation?”
Another poll worker said many voters showed up to vote and were not listed as registered. It was unclear whether they were forced to vote a provisional ballot. Volkmer said about 100 voters called to report that problem on Election Day, which the team described as “possible criminal activity at the worst, and malfeasance or incompetence at the least if true. … This is NOT an anomaly and appears widespread.”
An email sent by Scott Johnson, deputy director of operations for the Pinal County elections department, five days before the election was certified, acknowledged he knew about the problem. The team commented, “By the email, Scott Johnson clearly knew there were problems identified but not investigated. The certification appears to have been rammed thru. More evidence of possible criminal malfeasance.”
The report cited numerous testimony from poll workers regarding all the problems, many of which broke the law. Boxes used to transfer ballots lacked seals or locks, and the tops were left open.
When one poll worker discovered discrepancies between the number of voters who had checked in and the number of ballots cast, they opened up some of the locked boxes containing ballots to investigate. Four of them had different numbers of ballots inside than indicated, including one that contained 188 additional ballots.
One observer saw a woman show up with multiple ballots to drop off, which she said she had collected from a senior community. The observer said, “No one even questioned it no one raised an eye.”
In Arizona, no one but a family member, household member, or caregiver defined as those providing medical or health care – including assisted living – are allowed to collect and submit absentee ballots. Anyone outside of that narrow definition is subject to a class 6 felony prosecution.
Poll workers were asked to sign off on documents and procedures regarding the validity of the votes that they had not reviewed. Someone who reviewed the election found, “An audit board appears not to have reconciled errors before results were certified, a safeguard required by state law.” The team said this was “[m]ore evidence of possible criminal negligence or worse.”