PHOENIX — The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors informed Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs that any equipment that was handed over for the State Senate’s audit of the 2020 General Election will not be used in future elections.
The letter was sent on behalf of the board from the county attorney’s office in response to an early communication from the Hobbs’ office on May 20 that she would not be re-certifying the equipment on the advice of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
"If the county intends to re-deploy the subpoenaed equipment, over which the County lost custody and control, for use in future Arizona elections, please notify my Office as soon as possible, and no later than July 1, 2021, so that we may properly consider decertification proceedings,” it read.
The county agreed, writing in response that “the board shares your concern.”
In a press release accompanying the letter, they note that the county “has implemented backup plans that included acquiring new tabulation equipment for the March and May jurisdictional elections in 2021.” The release also says that the county is working with its current vendor, Dominion Voting Systems, to “replace the subpoenaed equipment so that we will be able to serve voters for the November 2021 election.”
A spokesperson with the county recorder’s office said that the cost of replacement is currently unknown, but that they are hoping to know more by mid-July.
