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Arizona AG Demands Maricopa Officials Answer For Reportedly Mixing Counted And Uncounted Ballots
The Federalist ^ | NOVEMBER 21, 2022 | Shawn Fleetwood

Posted on 11/22/2022 6:47:18 AM PST by george76

Since Election Day, the Arizona attorney general’s office has ‘received hundreds of complaints’ over Maricopa County’s administration of the 2022 general election.

...

Arizona ballots that couldn’t be counted due to broken machines were mingled in some locations with already tabulated ballots, according to the Elections Integrity Unit of Arizona’s attorney general’s office. State officials listed numerous ways Maricopa County, Arizona, election officials failed to properly segregate, count, tabulate, tally, and transport ballots during the midterm 2022 elections, which likely resulted in significant disenfranchisement of Election Day voters.

In a letter sent to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office by Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright, the Elections Integrity Unit of Arizona’s attorney general’s office notified the county that they had “received hundreds of complaints since Election Day pertaining to issues related to the administration of the 2022 General Election” and as a result, are demanding Maricopa County election officials provide answers for the chaos, confusion, and mismanagement of the voting process in a report to be submitted on or before Nov. 28, when Maricopa must send its official canvass to the secretary of state for certification.

The complications raised in the letter include issues with the configuration settings of ballot-on-demand printers at 60-plus voting locations in the county, “which appeared to have resulted in ballots that were unable to be read by on-site ballot tabulator.” In sworn statements provided to the attorney general’s office, numerous Maricopa election workers claimed that the printers in question experienced no problems when tested the day before the election on Nov. 7.

As instructed by Maricopa election officials, voters whose ballot wouldn’t tabulate correctly were to place their ballots in a bin called “Door 3.” Despite claims from Maricopa Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates and County Recorder Stephen Richer that the “Door 3” ballots would be tabulated at a central tabulation location after polls closed on Election Day, the county seemingly failed to adhere to state law when transporting and counting the ballots.

“Maricopa County appears to have failed to adhere to the statutory guidelines in segregating, counting, tabulating, tallying, and transporting the ‘Door 3’ ballots,” Wright wrote. “In fact, Maricopa County has admitted that[,] in some voting locations, ‘Door 3’ non-tabulated ballots were commingled with tabulated ballots at the voting location.”

“Further, we have received a sworn complaint from an election observer indicating that more than 1700 ‘Door 3’ non-tabulated ballots from one voting location were placed in black duffle bags that were intended to be used for tabulated ballots,” she added.

Also included in the letter are claims that election workers and voters had problems with “check out” procedures, wherein voters trying to “check out” of a voting location due to the ballot printer problems were “having difficulties” doing so. Many of the voters who left to cast their ballots at another voting center in the county reported having to cast a provisional ballot, as the “e-Pollbooks” system utilized by Maricopa “maintained the voter had [already] cast a ballot in the original voting location.”

The reported issues and sworn allegations raised in Wright’s letter are not the only documented concerns over Maricopa’s 2022 election misadministration. In a report released by the Election Integrity Network, election workers and poll observers alike reported experiencing widespread chaos on the day of and those following the election, with many pointing to faulty vote tabulator machines and a lack of an effective response from Maricopa election leaders.

“Tabulators would not scan ballots on the first try or many tries. Voters either spoiled their ballot and tried again or drop the unscanned ballot in box 3. … Or some people just gave up and left. 40 % of the ballots would not scan properly,” a poll observer report from Nov. 15 said.

“Tabulators aren’t working. There was literally chaos in the poll. Many voters left without voting,” another reported the same day.

According to a poll taken by the group, 84 percent of surveyed Maricopa poll watchers, election workers, and other volunteers said that they were “not at all confident” that Arizona’s election results are “completely accurate and honest.” In another survey question, 94 percent said that their biggest concern with Maricopa’s election administration was the “voting technology.”

In the weeks following the election — which was overseen by Arizona Secretary of State and Democrat gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs — Gates has regularly attempted to normalize Maricopa’s delayed election results and downplay the apparent disenfranchisement of voters on Election Day. In a recent video posted to Maricopa County’s Twitter account, for instance, Gates dismissed claims that the locality’s tabulator issues constituted “voter suppression,” while ambiguously adding that “we know what voter suppression looks like in our country.”

“The inconvenience and the lines that people experienced were unfortunate,” he said. “But the fact is, every voter had the opportunity to cast a vote on Election Day.”

Maricopa infamously resisted the forensic audit of the 2020 presidential election overseen by Republicans in the Arizona State Senate that was released last year.

...

Despite his attempts to dump cold water on the justified anger of Maricopa voters, the impact of the county’s election administration failures throughout the 2022 elections cannot be overstated, especially given the close nature of the state’s 2022 races. While votes are still being tabulated in Maricopa as of this article’s publication, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake currently trails Democrat Katie Hobbs by roughly 17,000 votes. The state’s contest for attorney general is even closer, with Democrat Kris Mayes leading Republican Abraham Hamadeh by less than 900 votes.

As the second-largest voting district in the country, Maricopa County is where over 60 percent of Arizona’s population currently resides. With at least 20 percent of voting locations experiencing tabulator issues and Republican-leaning voters more likely to vote on Election Day, the misadministration of Maricopa’s elections could have disenfranchised enough voters to swing the results of either one of these elections.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: arizona; ballots; electionfraud; fraud; maricopa; votefraud; voterfraud
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1 posted on 11/22/2022 6:47:18 AM PST by george76
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Organized election theft must be a capital crime

Arrest. Prosecute. Convict. Sentence. Execute


2 posted on 11/22/2022 6:48:31 AM PST by Gene Eric (Don't be a statist!)
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To: george76

This, alone, is grounds for non-certification and a new election.


3 posted on 11/22/2022 6:50:50 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is ████ █ ██████ ███████ ███ ██████ ██ ████████.)
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To: george76

A lot of well-documented concerns mentioned in this article. People are stepping forward and reporting what was done, what they saw, and how the process was screwed up.

Too bad the media will dismiss this because there is “no evidence”.


4 posted on 11/22/2022 6:51:57 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (We are already in a revolutionary period, and the Rule of Law means nothing. )
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To: george76

Procedurally it’s all kinda jacked up. But in this case wouldn’t a recount at least capture all the votes collected?


5 posted on 11/22/2022 6:53:05 AM PST by 3RIVRS
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To: george76

The only equitable - ahem - solution is to redo the election.

Yeah. /s


6 posted on 11/22/2022 6:54:11 AM PST by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: george76

They need to be fired and barred from ever working in government again.

You can be pro-your party, but you can’t sabotage an election with cheating.


7 posted on 11/22/2022 6:58:38 AM PST by struggle
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To: george76

throwing out Maricopa might flip the Senate, which no one is talking about.


8 posted on 11/22/2022 6:58:42 AM PST by TexasFreeper2009
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To: george76

I think they should answer for it too, but I suspect not in the way he means.


9 posted on 11/22/2022 6:59:37 AM PST by quikstrike98 ( )
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To: george76

I think that the Az Supreme Court is the only entity that can order an election redo. Time is of the essence. Hurry up and get a case before the court already.


10 posted on 11/22/2022 6:59:37 AM PST by DeplorablePaul ("..)
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To: 3RIVRS

It has to be redone because there are voters that were straight out not able to vote at any location. The recount is automatic in the Gov race which is already within a .5 margin.


11 posted on 11/22/2022 7:07:59 AM PST by erlayman (i)
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To: Gene Eric

I completely agree. Especially when one takes into account the our ability to have a voice in our governance came at the price of blood. Just visit any Veteran’s Cemetery and count the headstones.


12 posted on 11/22/2022 7:09:30 AM PST by Howie66 (Let's Go Brandon!!)
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To: george76

Governor DeSantis fixed this type of BS here in Florida......and you see what happened.


13 posted on 11/22/2022 7:09:38 AM PST by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“This, alone, is grounds for non-certification and a new election.”

Well, four of Arizona’s 15 counties are withholding certification. I don’t know if that will stand, but it is at least a start.

My guess is some judge will force them to poop or give the
pot to Maricopa County.


14 posted on 11/22/2022 7:12:09 AM PST by Tupelo (A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand)
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To: Gene Eric

Organized election theft must be a capital crime
Arrest. Prosecute. Convict. Sentence. Execute

Should be Federal Crime, because it crosses interstate boundaries frequently, and it directly effects other states and Jurisdictions.

I firmly believe, if the Unites States wants to be a democracy, that organized election interference should be a capital crime, with PUBLIC HANGING. There is no other way, because the people that are doing it do not fear the justice system and are stealing democracy, our nations future, and creating nothing but a Fascist State.


15 posted on 11/22/2022 7:12:23 AM PST by Pete Dovgan
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To: Pete Dovgan

>> should be a capital crime, with PUBLIC HANGING. There is no other way,

definitely


16 posted on 11/22/2022 7:14:22 AM PST by Gene Eric (Don't be a statist!)
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To: Gene Eric

This is probably bunch of mistakes.
Like I posted before, AZ election procedures are a nightmare.
Millions of rules, it is so easy to get lost in them!
I am not sure who set up it this way, but they had to drink heavily!
I can see how they could mixed misread ballots (one big envelope going into blue box) with the counted ballots (going into the black bags).
Unfortunately, the proposed fixes in last session were torpedoed by Rusty Bowers (primaried out), gov. Ducey, and couple of other RINO’s.
Prop 309 which was on the ballot and which could help immensely was apparently torpedoes by voters (I do not know why, it had 80% support by voters before election!)
Somebody obviously likes the chaos!
With the new legislature and apparently Dems in governor and sec of state seats, nothing could be done in next four years.
The mess will continue.
But AZ is not the worse. They are still counting in Alaska and California.


17 posted on 11/22/2022 7:16:48 AM PST by AZJeep
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To: logi_cal869

Well, redoing election with the same equipment and the same procedures will end up with the same chaos!
In AZ, it is the procedure which is the problem!


18 posted on 11/22/2022 7:18:42 AM PST by AZJeep
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To: ClearCase_guy
Too bad the media will dismiss this because there is “no evidence”.

Also, "unfounded," "false," "baseless."

19 posted on 11/22/2022 7:19:42 AM PST by Salvey
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To: AZJeep

From a systems engineering model it’s a total fail.


20 posted on 11/22/2022 7:20:37 AM PST by 38special (I should've said something earlier)
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