Sellers: AZ GOP denying reality with election ‘audit’

ELECTIONS 2020

County chairman decries audit

Arizona Senate leadership hired the wrong people, enabling and enriching unvetted, unqualified, private companies with known biases who never should have touched federally certified elections equipment or the people’s ballots.”

Jack Sellers, Chairman, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors

It has now been 10 months since the November 2020 election, yet the Arizona Senate Republican leadership continues to deny reality. The election held in Maricopa County was one of the best run elections in the United States. Real election experts all agree on that point.

Maricopa County long ago provided to the Arizona Senate everything competent auditors would need to affirm the accuracy and security of the November general election.

The latest Senate demands are an attempt to distract attention from their botched audit and conspiracy-obsessed contractors.

For months, the Senate’s audit team has had access to the items they need to confirm Maricopa County’s tabulators were not connected to the internet and thus were not hacked during the November general election.

The certified auditors hired by the county needed just two weeks with the machines and logs that we turned over to the Senate to make such a determination. They have what they need.

Arizona Senate leadership hired the wrong people, enabling and enriching unvetted, unqualified, private companies with known biases who never should have touched federally certified elections equipment or the people’s ballots.

Elected officials have a responsibility to tell all their constituents the truth whether some of their constituents like it or not. Lying to constituents to make them happy is an abdication of responsibility.

The Senate and their privately funded contractors should finish their “audit,” release their report and be prepared to defend it in court.

Read below the Supervisor’s official response sent to the Arizona Senate on Aug. 2.

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Dear Senators,

It is now August of 2021. The election of November 2020 is over. If you haven’t figured out that the election in Maricopa County was free, fair, and accurate yet, I’m not sure you ever will. The reason you haven’t finished your “audit” is because you hired people who have no experience and little understanding of how professional elections are run.

The board has real work to do and little time to entertain this adventure in never-never land. Please finish whatever it is that you are doing and release whatever it is you are going to release. I am confident that our staff and volunteers ran the election as prescribed by federal and state law.

There was no fraud, there wasn’t an injection of ballots from Asia nor was there a satellite that beamed votes into our election equipment. It’s time for all elected officials to tell the truth and stop encouraging conspiracies.

Release your report and be prepared to defend any accusations of misdeeds in court. It’s time to move on.

Jack Sellers, Chairman, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors

Editor’s note: Republican Jack Sellers is chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors representing county District 1. The elected county board is comprised of four Republicans and one Democrat.