The team behind the 2020 presidential election audit in Maricopa County, Arizona, plans to submit its full draft report to the state Senate next week, according to a spokesperson for the project.
The submission of the final review of the 2020 election, which saw auditing teams recount 2.1 million ballots and analyze voting machines this summer, has been delayed for several weeks. Audit Co-Chairman Randy Pullen told the AZ Mirror the draft report could be handed to the Senate on Wednesday or Thursday.
Plans to submit the audit report were delayed after the audit leader and CEO of Cyber Ninjas, Doug Logan, tested positive for COVID-19 along with two other members of the five-person team.
The audit report was previously intended to be submitted by the end of August. Senate President Karen Fann tweeted on Aug. 16 that the “audit companies are preparing the draft report to present to the senate team.”
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When work began on the audit on April 23, Logan estimated the recount would be accomplished by mid-May. The recount of 2.1 million ballots got off to a slow start in the first few weeks of the audit, leading to efficiency changes and additional volunteers needed to help with the hand recount alone.
A team with the majority-Republican Senate will review the audit report and recommend changes before a final review is issued for the public. The Senate will meet on Monday to discuss the next steps for issuing a report, Pullen said.
The audit has been subject to intense criticism by county officials and others, including Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who has cast the audit as a “political stunt” meant to cast doubt on election integrity.
Former President Donald Trump and his allies have championed the audit as a means to prove his allegations of widespread fraud in a state he lost in 2020. Fann has insisted that the audit is meant to “restore trust in the system and influence potential changes to the law.”
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The Washington Examiner contacted the Arizona Senate but did not immediately receive a response.
