Maricopa County Audit Tests an Already Fractured Arizona GOP

'I think not only is it a breaking point for the Arizona GOP, but it could be a breaking point for the party as a whole nationally.'

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PHOENIX—In the parking lot outside the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum last Thursday, a small group of Arizona Rangers were chatting under a flimsy white tent as the sun beat down on the asphalt. As he fiddled with the outdoor fan underneath the tent, a lead member of the security team jokingly asked the Arizona Rangers how he could tone down the afternoon’s 106 degree dry heat. “A 35-foot airstream—have Donald Trump bring one down for us,” a mustachioed Ranger named Terry teased in response. 

The Arizona Rangers—a nonprofit organization of volunteer law enforcement officials whom one Arizona state trooper called “glorified security guards”—take their jobs very seriously. They guard the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, a saddle-shaped indoor arena located on the state fairgrounds, where since late April Republican organizers have been hand-counting the 2.1 million ballots that Maricopa County voters cast in the 2020 election.

Rangers spend their shifts directing audit volunteers into a cordoned-off area of the parking lot and escorting reporters to the press box inside the building. They enjoy teasing members of the press: On three separate occasions, I was asked by security personnel why I bothered to cover the “audit” in-person when I could simply watch the live stream online at azaudit.org.

For all their chest-puffing, the real power lies with Randy Pullen, former chairman of the Arizona Republican Party and treasurer of the Republican National Committee. Pullen now serves as the Maricopa County audit liaison alongside fellow audit spokesman Ken Bennett, who previously served as president of the Arizona Senate and secretary of state of Arizona. (Bennett did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.)

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  1. bottleneckbrown

    Seems odd that in the whole state, the ES&S results were not challenged. https://azsos.gov/sites/default/files/2020_0709_Election_Cycle_Voting_Equipment.pdf

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  2. GregS

    This is not about 2020. This is about 2022 and 2024. The insanity in Arizona is meant to create the infrastructure and permission structure to actually steal the election next time. Trump tried in 2020 and failed. The next attempt will succeed if the GOP has anything to say about it.

    But we can keep talking about Biden's "stalled agenda" because that's easier to talk about than the fact that the GOP is showing us in plain view what they intend to do next time.

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    Jason Gibson

    Audrey: “I’ll be baack”

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    Mike Shigley

    Audrey: What causes the disconnect between the type of people who are elected to chair the state Republican party and those who are nominated by Republican voters for statewide office?

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      George.Skinner

      It's the type of person who's willing to show up to tedious party meetings on a regular basis instead of doing something more interesting. The people who do this are either incredibly civic minded, true believers, cranks, or they have an axe to grind. Normal people spend time with their families in the evenings, watch or play sports, do chores around the house, etc. The same dynamic is at work in unions, homeowner associations, school PACs, and even church councils.

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        Mudskipper

        Yep. I was just talking about that with my sister with regard to her authoritarian HOA. The people who are willing to volunteer for the board are people who get off on controlling others. I hasten to say that's not always the case: I'm on a HOA board that's pretty easy going. But if you don't want control freaks on the board, you got to belly up to the bar and volunteer.

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        Seth Higgins

        This could not be more spot on.

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  5. ExploreOK

    1. Why isn't Greg Ducey responding to the attacks on him by DJT, and the insanity of the audits?
    Assuming it will finish before he is up for re-election, I think he can afford to withhold delivering a verdict until the audit is complete.

    2. Will this become an issue for the Republicans nationally?
    It seems both parties have issues at locally, which are threatening national agendas and election campaigns.

    Assuming many of these activities by the rabid pro-Trump base end up quadruple checks on election results rational people already agreed were valid, I favor Republicans in the calculation.

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    1. David Mancke

      What on earth does this last paragraph mean?

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  6. Alex DeLarge

    This isn't reporting so much as the usual anti-Trump polemic that we've all come to know and love from our biased and dishonest media. It also reeks of defensiveness. So what if they recount the votes? Why be so afraid and angry? More information is better than less information. So let's just see what the results are.

    But nope, the anti-Trump hysteria train just keeps rolling along.

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    1. Mack

      “So what if they recount the votes?”

      This question rests on the unspoken assumption that the people in charge of the current “recount” are honestly trying to recount the votes (in which case there would be no problem), rather than trying to alter or spoil the ballots in an effort to throw the certified results into doubt. Given what I’ve seen so far, that is not an assumption I am prepared to grant.

      “More information is better than less information.”

      Not if it’s the wrong information.

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    2. David Mancke

      Has it occurred to you that you are the one that has a significant mental derangement where your politics are concerned.

      Do you recall that old adage about someone that meets assholes everywhere they go..?

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    Nick H

    "...assuring me that the recount is in good hands even though it’s being led by Cyber Ninjas, a Florida-based cybersecurity company that has never conducted a forensic audit."
    The Arizona state GOP chose Cyber Ninjas to run the audit.
    Not Deloitte. Not PwC or KMPG or Ernst and Young. Not even a local accounting firm.
    Cyber Ninjas.
    Cyber. Ninjas.
    I can't even.
    How did that meeting go where they chose this group to run the audit?
    Chair: "Next on the agenda is the professional auditors we'll select to run this. Above all we want this to be taken seriously, so we'll need a group that's above reproach, universally recognized as qualified and competent, and is respected across the board. Does anyone have any contacts with any of the Big Four accounting firms?"
    Member: "Nah, I got this. Cyber Ninjas."
    Chair: ...
    Member: ...
    Chair: "Okay then, all in favor? Motion passes."

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      Mudskipper

      You forgot the main qualification of Cyber Ninjas: its CEO is a card carrying member of Stop the Steal.

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    2. David Mancke

      It would be funny if it wasn't so terrible.

      Reminds me of "Killology; training for cops"

      What kind of a roided-out manchild could get beyond the headline as still be interested. (Hint; Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie)

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  8. David Mancke

    Just more evidence of why the GOP cannot be trusted with political power.

    'Sure our leadership crazy, but they don't represent the party writ large; so you can trust the party to govern responsibly'

    Voters in general will have to choose between the constitutional order and allowing the cult-dominated GOP to subvert the rule of law in favor of ambition even Caesar would have called treason.

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    1. Maddmac

      Sadly my opinion is that the people who truly believe the election was stolen are largely in fear that their world is caving in on them (ie they don't like the changes in the country from a cultural and ethnical perspective). This is their last hope.

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  9. Raincheck

    This is a prime example of just how broken the GOP is. Arizona was once a Republican stronghold. These fringey, Trumpy types have taken over the party and it now it just keeps losing.

    Martha McSally was my congressperson. She had the seat once held by Gabby Giffords in a real 50-50 district. Once the election was decided by 17 votes. She won because she was a moderate, “normal” Republican - a veteran, a woman and a common sense candidate. In her senatorial run she went all in on Trumpy behavior. And lost to a moderate, reasonable Democrat, Gabby Gifford’s husband.

    That is a microcosm of what is happening in the state. Kyl was a very traditional GOP Senator and, from all appearances, a good and well meaning man. McCain was a n outspoken maverick, but he was a centrist maverick. They won statewide elections over and over. These conspiracy theory nut jobs can’t win a thing, but they are becoming the face of the party, and the party is shrinking as a result. It’s bad branding if you want the huge suburban vote in AZ.

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  10. Nathan

    I am more worried about GOP adding false ballots to the stack - loading the deck as it were.

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    1. Maddmac

      Me too. This whole thing is very hard for my addled brain to piece together. Audrey's articel has been the best at explaining what they heck they are actually doing. I'm thinking, how do we know they aren't somehow duplicating the ballot and replacing it with a ballot suiting their needs?

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    2. Mwupton

      Fortunately, after a previous hand recount this effort would fly like a toaster. If someone tried it, it would only further entrench the voter fraud believers and everyone else ignoring this would continue to ignore this. I can't see anything coming up on a second (third?) recount moving the needle for anyone.

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