PHOENIX — Cyber Ninjas, the company leading the Maricopa County election audit, released documents Thursday highlighting the processes and methods being used to conduct the review of ballots.
Since the beginning of this effort, Cyber Ninjas has worked to keep its methods and specifics on procedures being used to conduct their work private. They asked a Maricopa County judge last week to seal any records the court asked them to turn over from the public. Attorneys for the company argued their methods include confidential information and expressed concern in revealing "trade secrets" that belong to the company and claimed the information is protected by legislative privilege.
However, a judge ruled those documents would be made public, denying the company's request for the court to seal them. No appeal was filed before the deadline to release the documents.
With the release of the documents on Thursday, Cyber Ninjas provided links to its information for the public to easily access to see that its “procedures are sound.”
#BREAKING: #CyberNinjas releases documents on methods, procedures themselves, citing an "ongoing effort to be transparent.."
— Nicole Valdes (@NicoleValdesTV) April 29, 2021
The move comes after a judge ruled those documents would be made public, denying the company's request for the court to seal them. #ABC15 pic.twitter.com/2lk4nv3lHh
Take a look at the "Counting Floor Policies" document below.
Some of what Cyber Ninjas is looking for includes examining physical ballots, noting any difference in thickness, color, text, or otherwise. Folds, or lack thereof, will also be checked out.
As part of the process, Cyber Ninjas explicitly states the audit would be live-streamed “to the world” with a 24-hour feed of what’s going on until ballots are back in Maricopa County’s custody.
The documents also elaborate on their process for counting accuracy, stating that "ballot counting teams must be accurate to within 0.03%" and "will be counted by three counters. After every 100 ballots, the three counters will total their tally sheets."
If the three counters run into discrepancies in their counts and a "counter is off by 3 votes in any one race, the ballots must be recounted," the document states.
According to Dan Barr, an attorney for the Arizona First Amendment Coalition, said, "Cyber Ninjas has withheld one document, Exhibit D9, that it says contains sensitive security information, which has been provided to the attorneys in the case under an 'attorneys eyes only' designation."
According to @DanCBarr: (atty, AZ First Amendment Coalition)
— Nicole Valdes (@NicoleValdesTV) April 29, 2021
"Cyber Ninjas has withheld one document, Exhibit D9, that it says contains sensitive security information, which has been provided to the attorneys in the case under an “attorneys eyes only” designation."
Click here to read the following documents released by Cyber Ninjas: "Counting Floor Policies," "CyFIR Digital Evidence Policies and Procedure Manual," and "Modifications to Standard CyFIR Evidence Handling Procedures for AZ Audit."
