Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 03/11/2026 5:42:15 AM PDT by MtnClimber
"Alarming concerns": A congressional memo was one piece of evidence the FBI used for a subpoena to review Maricopa County, Arizona election records in recent days. The issue extends to other states.
Before the FBI subpoenaed election records involving Arizona's largest county this month, congressional staffers dispatched to monitor Maricopa County’s vote-counting process in 2024 reported "alarming" concerns that completed mail-in ballots were stored in the same room as blanks and were sorted by a third-party printing company that had no government officials or partisan observers on site, according to a copy of the observer's report obtained by Just the News.
The concerns about one of Maricopa's third-party run centers were detailed in a memo written during the 2024 presidential election in which Trump won, including in Arizona. That memo memorialized the observations of a Republican staff member sent by the House Administration Committee with a Democratic colleague to monitor election procedures in the county.
The memo, which was reviewed by Just the News, is one of the pieces of evidence that the FBI recently reviewed before it sent a recent subpoena for Maricopa County voting records from the state Senate.
Terabytes of data
The FBI is currently receiving terabytes of data from that subpoena to the state Senate as part of its expanding probe into election irregularities across the country, Just the News reported Sunday. The subpoena followed a raid on a Fulton County, Georgia election center last month during which federal agents seized ballots from the 2020 election.
In the memo, a Republican staffer described in detail his visit to a third-party contractor, Runbeck Election Services, which was hired by Maricopa County to sort mail-in ballots for signature verification in preparation for counting at the county’s main election site.
It was at that third-party site, miles away from the main election facility, that the House staffers observed concerning storage practices and were informed that no state workers were present, despite the handling of completed mail-in ballots.
The Republican staffer was joined by his Democratic counterpart during the visit, who shared similar concerns about what they observed at the facility, according to the memo delivered to the House Administration Committee–the legislative panel responsible for overseeing federal elections.
Rep. Abe Hamadeh, a Republican from Arizona, asked the Justice Department last summer to investigate claims that the Runbeck facility in Maricopa breached protocols during the 2024 general election. The congressman shared similar concerns with the Justice Department, such as the mixing of blank ballots with mail-in ballots and whether proper security procedures were followed.
Blank ballots appeared to be ripped open and ballots removed Neither Maricopa County nor Runbeck responded to requests Monday for comment from Just the News.
When the congressional monitors visited the Runbeck facility, they observed that mail-in ballot sorting was taking place in the same warehouse alongside shelves of unsecured blank ballots and other printing materials. The wrapping of some pallets of blank ballots appeared to be ripped open and ballots removed, the memo stated.
The Republican observer recounted how blank ballots and envelopes were left unattended in the same facility sorting incoming mail-in ballots.
“It was alarming that the day after an election that ballots and envelopes would be printed, left unattended, with thousands of others similarly positioned,” the staffer wrote. “Stacked on the right were USPS sorting boxes, which were used to transport Maricopa mailed ballots from [the main Maricopa facility] to Runbeck.”
Additionally, Runbeck staff informed the congressional staffers that no state election officials or bipartisan observers were present at the third-party site while ballot sorting was ongoing. “I asked if any of them were government employees or law enforcement. They said no. I asked if any government employees were on site, they said no,” the staffer wrote.
Runbeck previously detailed plans to upgrade monitoring systems, including new cameras and a designated area for official election observers to watch the ballot sorting process.
Runbeck’s President and CEO Jeff Ellington told the AZ Central in 2024 the facility would have a room for observers with a live video feed into the warehouse.
"Two people out here is manageable," Ellington said, referring to the warehouse floor. "But if you start to get too many, with fork trucks and pallet jacks, somebody could get run over. So we're just going to try to keep people in a room where they can watch everything. If they want to come out and see something, there will be a process to bring them out here."
No official observers present
However, according to the congressional staffers, there were no official observers from the Maricopa elections office monitoring the process at the Runbeck facility on the day they visited during the 2024 election.
“In contradiction of statements made to local news and journalists, Runbeck did not have bipartisan teams running these machines. There was [sic] no election workers present, no observers, and no election integrity,” the Republican staffer alleged in the memo.
The Runbeck facility in Maricopa was also responsible for processing ballots for the election in neighboring Nevada. The staffer noted that Runbeck was responsible for processing mail-in ballots for both Arizona and Nevada at the same time, raising further concerns about commingling and was offered as an explanation for counting delays in Clark County, Nevada in that election.
“The employee explained that they were running Arizona’s ballots for Maricopa before they started to process Nevada again. (This may explain the delay in Nevada posting any new tabulated totals for Wednesday and Thursday, because the Nevada ballots were awaiting sorting/signature verification at the Runbeck facility.)” the staffer wrote.
In addition to Nevada, the Runbeck site reportedly stores ballots for several other Western states, including Colorado, California, and Utah. It is unclear based on the report whether Runbeck also sorts ballots on behalf of election officials in those states.
SNIP
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
I think much more is going on.
BUMP!
There was in 2020 and 2022. The county used to at least send ballots to Runbeck without even counting them first.
Jeez, what did they ask for?!
Why are mail-in ballots sorted? Are they sorted prior to being counted? Are they counted, sorted, and archived? This process is not clear to me.
The proximity of completed and blank ballots appears to facilitate the creation of bogus ballots on demand.
Just like assembly lines, with compatible machines that just happen to be placed next to each other in an apparently non-random order.
Just coincidence, nothing more. Like evolution.
Those packaged snickerdoodles just assemble themselves, dontcha know.
Each of those “stores ballots for other states” is reliably democrat, aren’t they. No wonder each of those “other states” needs 8 to 14 days to count ballots. Which end of reliably democrat after every re-recount
There is a bureaucrat level civil war between states going on. Blue states refuse to operate with any ethics. Stealing from federal programs to the tune of billions, fraudulent vote practices, federal highway dollars, mass transit grants and subsidies, and the practice funds their continued efforts to do more.
If there are “Alarming Concerns”, Congress is not the place to aleve those concerns. They clean the mess up like mopping up a turd with sandpaper.
Maricopa County has faced intense scrutiny and allegations of corruption, primarily centered on election administration and financial management. Key issues include ongoing political battles over election oversight, accusations of misinformation, and audits revealing mismanaged funds within the Sheriff’s Office. These disputes have led to lawsuits and calls for investigations. Votebeat
Key Aspects of Alleged Corruption and Controversy——Election Admin and Political Conflict:
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap has faced accusations from the County Board of Supervisors wrt his office’s spending and the spreading of false information. The Board has taken steps to limit his control over election infrastructure. Supervisor Steve Gallardo called for a public-corruption investigation into Recorder Heap, alleging he made false claims to gain control over election processes.
The county has been a focal point for conspiracy theories and election denialism, which prompted audits and reviews that did not substantiate claims of widespread fraud.
Financial Mismanagement——Sheriff’s Office Audit: A court-ordered audit found that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) mismanaged funds, inflated costs for legal compliance, and breached state budget laws. Recorder Heap has claimed that the Board of Supervisors and County Attorney are retaliating against him.
Officials have had to fight against misinformation regarding voting machine security. The Recorder’s office has initiated efforts to increase transparency in response to these challenges. Votebeat
Despite these controversies, official reviews and audits have generally confirmed the integrity of the vote counts, even while highlighting administrative and financial mismanagement. The Century Foundation
“He didn’t win, did he?”
“Why are mail-in ballots sorted?”
Ballots are from precincts, in counties, in State Rep and State Sen districts...and other political geography designations.
Each ballot must be counted in the correct finite geographic district where the voter votes from. Of course, the ballot lists both President and other federal and state and local offices.
The #1 think in any vote audit is to check the vote by precinct, at the most granular level of geography. Once that tie to the precinct is lost, any vote count or verification is meaningless.
Thanks.
“The #1 think in any vote audit is to check the vote by precinct, at the most granular level of geography.”
Makes sense.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.