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Opinion

Hickman: Arizona’s 2020 presidential election was well run, accurate

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A few days ago, I participated in a four-hour hearing that will hopefully put to bed any lingering questions about the integrity of the November 2020 General Election in Maricopa County.

In response to the “audit” performed by Cyber Ninjas and other Senate contractors, the Maricopa County Elections Department produced a 93-page report entitled “Correcting the Record: An In-Depth Analysis of the Senate’s Inquiry.”

The Elections Department presented their findings to the Board of Supervisors and County Recorder during a hearing we broadcast live on YouTube on Jan. 5.

The report, produced by seasoned election professionals, confirms what we’ve said all along:

  • The canvassed results were accurate;
  • All the declared winners won;
  • No systemic issues were identified;
  • All federal, state, and local laws were followed.

Our report shows nearly every claim made by Senate contractors is false, inaccurate or misleading.

The Cyber Ninjas claimed there were more than 53,000 questionable ballots cast in 2020. Our analysis found fewer than 100 out of 2.1 million with no systemic issues identified and no impact on the outcome of races. You can read the full report at JustTheFacts.vote.

None of this is surprising to me. As the chairman of the Board of Supervisors in 2020, my priority was running three great elections. And we did.

With each election, we learned something. And we applied those lessons to the next election. By November, we made a good system even better and had the right processes in place to ensure all eligible votes were counted.

Unfortunately, a few senators chose to believe lies, rumors and innuendo instead of experienced election professionals. The Senate’s “audit” relied on the guesswork of inexperienced and biased individuals with no election auditing experience. It’s no wonder 74 of their 75 claims were debunked and Cyber Ninjas is now defunct.

What we need to do now is get back to what works. If the legislature wants to make new laws regarding elections, great. But let’s make those laws based on verifiable facts and in concert with election professionals. No laws should come from discredited Ninja claims.

Whatever rules we agree upon need to be in place prior to our elections; people who want to move the goalposts after the fact because they don’t like the results damage trust. Any and all post-election audits should be guided by proven, consistent processes or else they will cause confusion. Elected leaders should exercise extreme caution before casting doubt on election integrity or results.

Failure to do so puts real people — election workers, elected leaders, etc. — at risk.

No election is perfect, but what our report confirms is the November 2020 General Election in Maricopa County is about as close as you can get.

A record number of people participated, their votes were counted as they were cast using proven processes, and both Republicans and Democrats won local and statewide races. If one of your preferred candidates or causes lost in 2020, that’s not proof of fraud; that’s proof of democracy working.

I look forward to working with our board, the Recorder, the Elections Department, and the political parties to run great elections in 2022. I’m hopeful we can all take a step back this year, see the good in one another, vote our conscience, and then accept the results as Americans of all political persuasions have done for generations.

Editor’s note: Republican Clint Hickman represents county District 4 on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.