Independent Election Observer Busts GOP Arizona Ballot Audit

Elizabeth Howard of The Brennan Center acted as an independent observer of the Arizona ballot audit and what she found has nothing to do with election integrity.

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Howard was asked what the point was of the GOP Arizona ballot audit, and she answered:

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The point doesn’t have to do with election integrity based on procedures I witnessed. The procedures are drastically different from professional and effective procedures in use across the country by election officials. For instance, when counters are supposed to count ballots, the ballot is placed on a spinning turntable.

Ballot counters are tasked with watching that ballot as it whizzes by, checking for marks for two races, marking the tally she accurate lip before the next ballot comes whizzing by them. It also allows for multiple instances where the counters’ tally sheets don’t match. In a normal post-election procedure where you are reviewing individual ballots, there would be a fair bipartisan official that agreed on how to count individual ballots. That’s not what we’re seeing at the colosseum. That’s another concern along with the fact they continue to change the procedures that are in use.

The audit is a sham. The ridiculousness has been well documented as people are looking for bamboo fibers in the ballots and using UV lights to look for secret watermarks.

There is no election integrity issue. Republicans are conducting a fake audit that they will use to justify their rigging of elections through voter suppression. The events in Arizona are extremely dangerous to democracy, and experts must highlight the seriousness of the danger to every American.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association