SocraticGadfly: Arizona continues to out-wingnut Texas, now on vote recount

May 06, 2021

Arizona continues to out-wingnut Texas, now on vote recount

The Arizona Senate is looking for made-in-China bamboo ballots as part of its hired firm, Cyber Ninjas, recounting Maricopa County ballots from last November. No, really.

That and other things have Arizona's Secretary of State, Katie Hobbs, saying the senate needs to bring the recount into alignment with state law. That's part of a lawsuit settled Tuesday by Hobbs and Arizona Democrats, with details here.
The secretary of state argued some of the procedures “appear better suited for chasing conspiracy theories than as part of a professional audit,” referring to the examination of ballots with UV lights to search for nonexistent watermarks. 
Meanwhile, Hobbs said observers noticed computers left on and unattended at tables used for forensic analysis, a violation of elementary security protocols. 
And Hobbs raised concerns about hiring, pointing to (former state Rep. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale’s) selection toapparently handle ballots despite the fact he is also on the ballot as well as present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 when it was overrun by a mob and previously fired for dishonesty from a job as a code enforcement officer.
Hobbs also specifically called out her Republican predecessor, Ken Bennett, as part of this. He's part of the recount, and made the bamboo ballots claim, passing on something from Cyber Ninjas.

The feds, namely the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, have now also weighed in, fearing that federal voting rights laws may be violated, perhaps may have already been violated.

No comments: