Hickman: Brnovich’s election report a ‘ludicrous’ ‘moral failing’

A few weeks ago, Mark Brnovich completed his slow transformation from Attorney General to general pandering with a 12-page report on the 2020 election in Maricopa County that vaguely claimed “serious vulnerabilities” with county elections while ignoring prosecutorial ethics that say he is bound to, you know, tell the truth.

The irony, of course, is that the report didn’t go far enough for President Trump, who has all but promised to endorse one of the AG’s rivals in the U.S. Senate race. Brnovich’s “interim” report is a moral failing, a copy of a copy of debunked conspiracies, bad math and intentional ignorance about the 2020 election written for a party of one.

The report was a response to the misguided election “audit” overseen by Cyber Ninjas and, in theory, the Arizona Senate. To correct the record, the County produced a 93-page report refuting 74 of the 75 claims made by Senate contractors and recently provided a point-by-point response to the Attorney General, which you can read online.

[Senate: AG’s allegations of county election fraud won’t be ignored]

What’s clear is the AG’s report is yet another official-looking document being used by the Arizona Senate to justify changes to an election system that is not broken. The long-repeated lie about broken chain of custody continues to grow like Pinocchio’s nose. There is no proof a single ballot ever left the custody of our staff.

The claim that up to 200,000 did is ludicrous. The allegation that county staff are not doing thorough signature verification distorts facts we provided directly to the AG, while the claim we use artificial intelligence to verify signatures is simply not true. Humans verify signatures. Period.

All of this has been a gigantic waste of taxpayer money.

I’m still waiting on more leaders in my party to tell the whole truth about the 2020 election. AG Brnovich had that opportunity and failed. Senate leadership had that opportunity and failed.

I wish more elected leaders were like House Speaker Rusty Bowers. Like me, he voted for President Trump. Like me, he was disappointed when President Trump lost Arizona and the White House. And like me, he refused to cower to President Trump’s pressure campaign to overturn the results of a fair and free election.

When the questions came fast and furious, Rusty Bowers didn’t just parrot them back. He bothered to learn the truth, spending part of his Christmas Eve at the county election center so he could better understand our equipment and processes. Knowing the truth, he told the truth. Even when some of his colleagues and constituents would have preferred not to hear it. Rusty’s courage, regardless of the consequences, recently earned him the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

I can’t think of anyone more deserving.

During my time on the Board, Maricopa County has worked diligently each election cycle to make improvements that make voting more convenient and more secure. These are not mutually exclusive. We will continue to improve our practices on behalf of voters and in accordance with state and federal laws.

Here’s the bottom line for residents: the current system and existing laws protect your vote. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s being stolen, or that it’s not worth voting. Your vote matters and it will be counted as it was cast.

You can learn more about how we run elections at JustTheFacts.vote and get all the information you need to cast a ballot in upcoming elections at BeBallotReady.vote.

Disinformation is not going away. In fact, it’s likely to get worse as we move toward the 2022 primary and general elections. Maricopa County is committed to sharing facts and defending democracy.

I just hope that one of these days, it won’t feel like such a lonely job.

Editor’s note: Republican Clint Hickman is vice chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and represents county District 4.