Maricopa County Election Audit Finds Votes Were Counted Correctly

PHOENIX — The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors released the results of an independent audit Tuesday, determining the results of the Nov. 3 election weren't tampered with.

Two independent auditing firms found that the election equipment used throughout the county was not hacked, was not connected to the internet and tabulated each ballot correctly with no vote switching, the county said in a news release.

According to Board Chairman Jack Sellers, the firms hired — Pro V&V and SLI Compliance — are the only two in the U.S. certified to audit for election integrity.

"We asked them to go beyond what we had already done to ensure the integrity of our elections and beyond even the stringent requirements of state law," he said in a statement. "We are releasing the results of those audits today so that the public can see what we see and know what we know: no hacking or vote switching occurred in the 2020 election.”

The auditors conducted source code tests to ensure the machines used certified software that was not altered. They also looked for evidence of equipment tampering or software hacking, as well as the ability to connect to the internet. Finally, the tabulation equipment provided by Dominion Voting Systems was checked for accuracy. It was all determined to be sound.

Eight lawsuits alleging fraud in Maricopa County had been previously tossed out by judges. Arizona's election results were certified for President Joe Biden on Nov. 30.

Four out of five members of the board of supervisors are Republicans.

Chairman Steve Gallardo, the board's lone Democratic member, said that the Nov. 3 election represents the will of the people.

“Whether you liked the results or not, the will of the people was represented," Gallardo said. "Our equipment worked. Our people were above reproach. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: 2020 elections in Maricopa County were safe, secure, and accurate. End of story.”

The Board of Supervisors will review the audits in a special board meeting on Wednesday at 1 p.m.

But this might not be the last audit surrounding the 2020 election in Maricopa County.

The board of supervisors and the GOP-led Arizona State Senate have been locked in a legal battle for weeks after the board refused to comply with a subpoena turn over ballots and other election materials to the Legislature out of concerns for voter privacy.

The Arizona Senate GOP and President Karen Fann have not yet commented publicly on the audit results.

The Senate would like to do an audit of its own and conduct a hand-count of all ballots. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge is set to hear the case in the coming weeks. The Senate is looking for another independent firm for their audit.

The audit of voting machines cost the county about $56,815, as reported by the Arizona Republic.