Here’s the latest with the ongoing audit of votes in Maricopa County, AZ. . .
First up, there’s some brewing drama as former Secretary of State Ken Bennett, who is serving as the liaison between the State Senate and the audit, is not happy with the way the Twitter account set up for the audit has been tweeting:
I asked Ken Bennett if he’s okay with how the @ArizonaAudit is being run in his name. He just told me, “No I’m not and I’m correcting that immediately.” pic.twitter.com/9r2hqNavRF
— Dillon Rosenblatt (@DillonReedRose) May 2, 2021
As of this post, however, Bennett’s name is still on the account:
Bennett did record a video for the account earlier this weekend where he said “every damn” vote will be audited:
We had a very successful week and we aren’t going to stop until every damn ballot is verified! pic.twitter.com/G4dqA7ppsC
— Maricopa Arizona Audit (@ArizonaAudit) May 2, 2021
Bennett also reportedly reached out to one of the journos targeted by the account to apologize:
To his credit, Senate audit liaison Ken Bennett called me this AM to apologize for account's tweets aimed at me. It was very gracious & unexpected. He said account will be changing. I'm aware of others who've received same call. It also wasn't surprising. Here's a story… https://t.co/S4qVlKgqWd
— Brahm Resnik (@brahmresnik) May 2, 2021
The audit account also accused the Dem Secretary of State of having her election expert impersonate a reporter to gain access to the site:
You @katiehobbs might be held accountable for having your paid election expert Ryan Macias impersonate a reporter and try to sneak past security to get on the ballot floor. More to come! https://t.co/lZAsX8VPPh
— Maricopa Arizona Audit (@ArizonaAudit) May 2, 2021
But the election expert, Ryan Macias, denied this charge:
I talked to Ryan. He said he was there pro bono, it's in the court filing.
He also said he didn't sneak past security. He didnt have media creds so he was turned away. Sign in sheet will say "unaffiliated" next to his name. https://t.co/uRHfh5lOIv
— The AZ – abc15 – Data Guru (@Garrett_Archer) May 2, 2021
And in other news, there’s a chance the audit is not finished on time:
"Maricopa County election audit could last weeks longer than expected, 'has no deadline.'" (via @taylorseely95) https://t.co/yxj69qc0o0
— Dan Nowicki (@dannowicki) May 2, 2021
If it’s not completed by May 14, they may have to pause the audit and resume it after the site’s contractual obligations are over:
An update. Ken Bennett said he still cannot share how many ballots have been counted, and stressed speed is of no concern to the Senate. Said if it’s not finished by May 14, when AZ State Fair needs the coliseum back, they may pause audit then resume later. #azaudit
— Taylor Seely (@taylorseely95) May 1, 2021
The State Fair needs the coliseum back for a few local graduations. Bennett said if audit is unfinished by May 14 and they have to pause/resume later, would require removing the equipment on the floor. The materials would remain on site, however, he said. #azauditpool
— Taylor Seely (@taylorseely95) May 1, 2021
Bennett also attempted to clear up just what the auditors are looking for on the ballots:
Bennett also explained that after ballots are hand counted, they're sent to the "paper evaluation" round where workers look for folds, whether ink used to fill in bubbles is from pen not machine, and any abnormalities. #azauditpool pic.twitter.com/CI3LJ7e1YE
— Taylor Seely (@taylorseely95) May 1, 2021
There was a lot of speculation regarding the use of UV lights, but, apparently, they’re no longer using them:
Previously, these paper evaluations included UV light tests. Bennett said this was to search for watermarks. The UV lights are no longer being used. Bennett said it wasn't because they were giving up. They found a way to search for watermarks without the lights. #azauditpool
— Taylor Seely (@taylorseely95) May 1, 2021
And they’re still looking for watermarks even though the ballots don’t have watermarks on them:
When asked why they're searching for watermarks (given official ballots do not have watermarks), Ken Bennett noted people don't trust the election. Searching for watermarks could help dispel suspicions, he suggested. #azauditpool
— Taylor Seely (@taylorseely95) May 1, 2021
More on that here:
The suspicion over watermarks goes back to a debunked conspiracy explained in this story. #azauditpool https://t.co/Hfw9P708ux
— Taylor Seely (@taylorseely95) May 1, 2021
The audit will resume on Monday:
Our audit team has been working very hard and we are taking a day of rest. Operations will start back up at 8AM on Monday morning!
— Maricopa Arizona Audit (@ArizonaAudit) May 2, 2021
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