Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, is probably going to receive a crap-load of nasty emails and protesters at his home and office. In today’s Arizona Republic he sheds some light on the ways that an actual, real, accredited audit of Maricopa County ballots differs from the Cyber Ninjas’ dangerous fantasy that’s been humping along for months—most of it in the dark, away from the public and the media, unless, like One America News Network (OAN), they happen to share the Ninjas’ conspiratorial beliefs.
Cyber Ninjas isn’t conducting the first recount; after the initial vote count Maricopa County completed two recounts of its own, because dammit there’s no way Biden could win Arizona (although polls showed him with a 4-6 point lead). When the County’s recounts confirmed the initial findings 100 percent, Republicans insisted on their own recount, but Maricopa County refused to turn over the ballots, which led to subpoenas. A judge simply ignored federal law pertaining to ballot security and ordered the records turned over to the Senate. Although experienced firms bid on the job, the Senate hired Cyber Ninjas, which had never conducted an election audit and whose CEO had already decided the election was stolen.
The Arizona Democratic Party sued to allow election experts to observe the sham audit, and to a person they have said Cyber Ninjas doesn’t know what they’re doing, whatever it is they’re doing isn’t an audit, the counters are poorly trained and biased, ballots and other records have been compromised (even ending up in Montana), and the voter machines have been tampered with to the point they’re no longer usable, costing at least $6 million to replace.
Bottom line: Whatever this chaos produces won’t mean shit—except to rightwing goobers who will say it proves trump won here (because you know Cyber Ninjas isn’t going to report that the count was accurate and Biden really did win). Also, the “fraud” becomes ammunition for more voter suppression laws.
Recorder Richer knows elections, knows recounts—that’s his job. So in today’s Arizona Republic he spells out the differences between what his office did to recount Maricopa County ballots and what Cyber Ninjas and the Arizona Senate are doing. The entire article is worth reading, but here are a few highlights:
Selecting counters: For Maricopa County each team consisted of three counters chosen by the parties, not the County; each team had to be bipartisan. The Ninjas drew predominantly from the Republican Party, and there is no bipartisan requirement. They even hired a State Senator who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 to count ballots that his name appeared on (he lost).
Politicians: The County did not allow candidates or current officials in the facility. Cyber Ninjas actually hired one candidate and more than a few politicians from Arizona and other states have visited the circus.
Races audited: The County randomly chose which races to audit, while Cyber Ninjas is only reviewing the Presidential and Senate races, both won by Democrats, but none of the Republican victories.
Training: All counters had to attend a two-week training and pass a test; many are accredited and have more than 20 years experience. Cyber Ninjas itself has no election recount experience, nor do most of its subcontractors and ballot counters (Proginoskes notes in the comments that counters were shown a 15-minute training video). One “experienced” partner, Wake TSI, did complete one other 1,000-vote audit, but they quit halfway through (no doubt concerned about their reputation).
Methodology: Maricopa County relied on proven methods designed by election experts and written into state law. Cyber Ninjas employed the goofball ideas of Jovan Pulitzer, whose scanning tool Time Magazine named one of “The 50 Worst Inventions.” He’s the nutball who convinced Ninjas to look for bamboo and suspicious paper folds.
Funding: The County’s funding was public; in fact, the state bars private funds for these government functions. All financial records are subject to public records laws. It’s anyone guess who is funding the Cyber Ninjas’ boondoggle, or how much has been raised. The state ponied up $150,000 but experts say it will cost at least $2 million. Most of it is anonymous, although OAN ran an on-air pitch and the Pillow jackass and Sidney Powell are in on the grift. Cyber Ninjas says its financial files are not subject to public records laws (that ludicrous claim is being challenged by at least two lawsuits).
Media: Maricopa County provided the same access to all credentialed reporters, and all records are open to the media. For the Ninjas’ audit, OAN was named the “official sponsor” and given unlimited access, which no other media outlet received. Some reporters were escorted from the building because they exposed the truth. Cyber Ninjas won’t make its procedures, funding, or findings available to reporters—hence the lawsuits.
Timelines: The County’s audit was subject to deadlines outlined in state law—completion within 20 days of the election. The Ninjas started March 2, over four months ago; they said they’d be done by May 14, then it was June 30, now they’ve had to move into another building with no A/C (in July, in Phoenix) because this never-ending clusterfuck drags on. Last week the Senate announced that they will recount the Ninjas’ recount. It’s like being stuck in some MC Escher loop, only not as much fun.
Two weeks ago the film Deep Rig, which makes the case for election fraud, premiered in Phoenix, featuring the Cyber Ninjas’ CEO and a collection of QAnon boobs and other conspiracy lunkheads. The director’s previous movie proved that aliens were behind 9/11. So there’s that.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer does not appear in Deep Rig.