The forensic audit of all Maricopa County ballots cast in the 2020 presidential election at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum continued in earnest on Monday, after Democrats tried to shut it down.
The AZ state senate used its subpoena power to take possession of all 2.1 million ballots in Maricopa county and the machines that counted them, along with computer hard drives full of election data. Republicans then hired a Florida company, Cyber Ninjas, to do a complete audit of the election results in the state’s most populous county. The counting, which began on Friday, can be viewed at azaudit.org.
On Saturday, Coliseum cameras showed election auditors scanning ballots individually in ultra-violet light.
ARIZONA AUDIT UPDATE: Maricopa County looks to be searching for special watermarks on the ballots pic.twitter.com/XU4ZxzvlbK
— “Mostly Peaceful” Matthew (@MostPeacefulOne) April 24, 2021
The same corporate media that had 100 percent confidence in the vote-counting procedures in Democrat-led precincts on and after Election Day, have been attacking the effort, calling it “a thinly-veiled effort to continue to undermine confidence in the 2020 election results,” and that it lacks “clear procedures and safeguards.”
“The process is alarming election professionals who fear the auditors are not up to the complex task and will severely undermine faith in democracy,” the Associated Press reported.
In a statement Monday, President Trump accused the media of starting a “demean and destroy campaign” to attack the integrity of the recount.
The ballots are being counted by “hundreds of nonpartisan volunteers” who have “received background checks” and have been “well-trained.” Arizona Republican Chairwoman Kelli Ward pointed out in a video update on Monday. In an effort to reassure critics, Ward also noted that all of the ballots are secure.
Citing concerns about “election integrity” and the “security of the ballots,” the AZ Democrat party on Friday had sought a temporary restraining order from the Maricopa County Superior Court to immediately stop the audit.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury agreed to pause the audit to review procedures if Democrats would post a $1 million bond to cover any expenses caused by the delay. The Democrats refused to pay the bond, so the audit resumed at 8:00 a.m. Monday.
Coury on Sunday recused himself from overseeing the legal challenge to the election audit after the court received filings from Democrats that complained about an attorney who worked in his office as an extern within the last five years. The attorney, Chris Viskovic, is now a junior associate at Kolodin Law Group PLLC, which is representing the Cyber Ninjas in the case.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel G. Martin was assigned to the case on Monday.
Former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett and Cyber Ninjas founder and CEO Doug Logan spoke to reporters last week about the verification process for each ballot.
Logan, who has been slammed in the media for being a Trump supporter who questions the integrity of the November election, responded to a question about his pro-Republican bias.
“There’s a lot of Americans here, myself included, that are really bothered by the way our country is being ripped apart right now,” he said in response. “We want a transparent audit to be put in place so people can trust the results, so we can get everyone on the same page. If we go through here, and we don’t find any fraud, I’m going to be ecstatic,” Logan added. “I’m gonna love that, I want to be able to tell people that. If we go through here and we find fraud, I want to fix it so our country and Democracy works.”
Logan said he was putting everything on the line in this effort because he cares about the country.
Former President Trump has been watching the Arizona audit closely, and has put out statements in support of the effort.
“The Democrats, upon hearing the news of the Court Order, have sent 73 lawyers to Arizona in an effort to stop this recount and full transparency because THEY KNOW WHAT THEY DID!” Trump said in a press release, Friday. “The Democrats are desperate for the FRAUD to remain concealed because, when revealed, the Great States of Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, New Hampshire, and the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, would be forced to complete the work already started. The Arizona recount and examination will be on live TV (OAN) for all to watch.”
Trump went on to slam the GOPe governor of AZ and predicted that the results of the audit will be “startling.”
Why are the Democrats so desperate to stop this Election Fraud from being revealed? That answer is obvious! The Governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, has been shockingly of zero help to the State Senate. He wants to “pretend” the election was free and fair. What are he and the Maricopa County Commissioners trying to hide? Our country needs the truth of the scam 2020 Election to be exposed. If it is not, just as if we have “no borders,” we cannot be a Great Nation. Honest elections are America’s Heart and Soul. We must never allow this to happen to our Great Country again. Thank you State Senators and others in Arizona for commencing this full forensic audit. I predict the results will be startling!
In a statement Monday afternoon, Trump predicted that Democrats will start a “demean and destroy campaign” very soon to attack the integrity of the recount.
Incredible organization and integrity taking place in Arizona with respect to the Fraudulent 2020 Presidential Election. These are Great American Patriots, but watch, the Radical Left Democrats “demean and destroy campaign” will start very soon. They will say anything they can to take away the integrity, validity, and credibility of what these incredible Patriots are doing—but the people of Arizona won’t stand for it. They were among the earliest to see that this was a Rigged Election!
Arizona GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward provided a video update of the audit proceedings thus far.
The Arizona Supreme Court is scheduled later this week to hear arguments brought by the Republican-led AZ Senate, Ward noted.
“Interference by the Judiciary in the management of the audit is an infringement upon the legislative branch, and therefore that’s unconstitutional,” she explained.
“The Democrats and their cronies in the media are waging an all-out nationwide blitz to discredit and stop the audit, using propaganda. The Arizona Democrat chairwoman and others continue to make wild, false accusations of ‘hate groups’ being used for the hand counting, that blue pens are being used by the auditors that will spoil the ballots, and that the ballots are not secure.
Ward said the accusations are all untrue but the “fake news media” is going right along with the Dems’ spin.
The Maricopa County Forensic Audit continues as the legal drama continues to unfold. Watch the latest recap and news from Arizona Chairwoman @kelliwardaz. We Will Not Be Intimidated #ElectionIntegrity #AzAudit pic.twitter.com/GVj6Ct7Okd
— Arizona Republican Party (@AZGOP) April 26, 2021
The AZ Senate has only a couple of weeks to complete the recount — they have rented the coliseum until May 14.