Senate President Karen Fann told the U.S. Justice Department the state senate will indefinitely defer its plan to canvass Maricopa County voters as part of its audit of the county’s 2020 Presidential election results.
The D.O.J. sent a letter to Fann earlier this week expressing concerns about ballot security and the audit firm’s plan to interview voters.
In a response sent Friday, Fann says canvassing will only happen if it’s necessary to complete the audit.
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If that becomes necessary, the Senate President said canvassing will not be done based on race, ethnicity, sex or party affiliation.
The D.O.J. warned Fann the audit may be violating federal law.
The Senate President also responded to concerns over the lack of ballot security, telling the Justice Department after some early and well-publicized challenges, the security protocols at the audit site have been made very strong.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs does not agree. Observers representing her office say the chain of custody of the ballots was broken.
Maricopa County Board President Jack Sellars and Sheriff Paul Penzone say threats of new subpoenas from the Arizona state senate as part of its election audit investigation will compromise critical evidence shared between law enforcement agencies.
It will also reveal financial, health and other private information of Maricopa County citizens.
In a letter to the senate's attorney Kory Langhofer, District Attorney Allister Adel says the county has already produced every password and security key for voting machine tabulators.
Meanwhile, the senate wants every router the county has, as it attempts to find out if foreign agents sabotaged the election results.
