The “audit” of all 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County during the 2020 presidential election has been a sham thus far. Putting aside the legitimate question of whether such an audit is even needed in the first place, this audit is being led, funded and supported by people with documented histories of promoting the falsehood that the Arizona vote was stolen from former President Donald Trump, and has been beset by problems.
A private cybersecurity firm, Cyber Ninjas, is overseeing the management of the process with scant election experience — and with a chief executive who has echoed false claims about fraud in the election.
There are allegations that the audit has already violated federal and state laws governing the confidentiality and security of ballots. As a result, last week a Maricopa County Superior judge ordered Cyber Ninjas to publicly release its procedures for guaranteeing voter privacy, and a group of election integrity experts wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice requesting that it deploy federal monitors to Arizona to monitor the audit.
Post-election audits can, theoretically, be a great way to help confirm whether votes are recorded and tallied accurately, which can in turn help boost public confidence in elections. But to have any hope of inspiring confidence in this audit, rather than legitimatizing conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, several significant changes need to be made immediately.
