
State Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, voted against holding the county supervisors in contempt.
PHOENIX — A bid by Senate Republicans to hold Maricopa County supervisors in contempt faltered Monday as one GOP lawmaker balked.
Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, said he believes the Senate does have the power to use its subpoena power to demand access to the county’s voting machines and ballots from the Nov. 3 election.
“That authority is clear, and it will be used if necessary,” Boyer said. But he said he believes that power should be used “sparingly and reluctantly.”
More to the point, Boyer said he believes the county is willing to conduct an additional audit of the presidential election results to answer questions about whether the reported results giving the edge to Joe Biden were accurate. What’s needed, he said, is a judge to issue an order clearing the way for the access that senators seek, rather than a contempt citation.
“I believe the board (of supervisors) genuinely seeks the confidence and clarity of a court order to legally proceed,” Boyer said. And once that happens, he said, there will be no legal reason for the supervisors to claim that giving the Senate what it wants would violate the law.
That drew derision from Sen. Warren Petersen, R-Phoenix, who walked colleagues through a timeline of what he said has been an ever-changing stance by the supervisors over whether there would or would not be an audit; who has access to the ballots; and some apparently conflicting arguments about whether courts have authority over the enforcement of legislative subpoenas.
Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, detailed for colleagues her own attempts to resolve the issue with the supervisors. In fact, Fann said she originally planned a contempt vote for 2½ weeks ago but held off in hopes it wouldn’t come to that.
Every effort to get a resolution, she said, was met with objections from the board.
“So I’m sorry to say, this is why we’re at where we’re at right now,” Fann said.
Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said claims by the supervisors that they want this resolved ring hollow. He cited a filing Monday morning that sought a court order to block the Senate from voting on the contempt resolution.
In that filing, board attorney John Doran told a Maricopa County judge the scheduled contempt vote was part of “politically charged paranoia” and a bid by the Senate to “press ahead with a false narrative belied by the actual facts and evidence.”
Mesnard called that filing “beyond outrageous. Their actions show they are dripping with contempt.”
With the 30-member Senate having just 16 Republicans and the Democrats opposed, Boyer’s decision left the majority one vote short of approving the contempt resolution.
A spokesman for the board said late Monday the supervisors had no comment.
What happens next is unclear.
There is still a Senate subpoena demanding access to the machines and the ballots.
The supervisors, four Republicans and one Democrat, have a pending lawsuit asking a judge to void the subpoena as invalid, saying state law prohibits the county from surrendering access.
Much of the dispute is over a section of state law that says after the post-election canvass, an envelope with the ballots is placed in a secure facility managed by the county treasurer “who shall keep it unopened and unaltered for 24 months for elections for a federal office.” Tully contends the only exception is when there is a legal challenge by a candidate or a recount, neither of which is at play here.
Petersen said he doesn’t read the law as precluding the supervisors from allowing legislators — or their designated agents — from looking at the ballots. But even if that were true, he said, another section of Arizona law says any evidence produced to comply with a legislative subpoena cannot be used against anyone to prosecute them.
“And just think about it practically,” Petersen told colleagues. “Who’s going to prosecute them? The county attorney? I doubt it.”
But the bottom line is about who ultimately is in charge.
“We issued a subpoena, and they have given us the finger,” Petersen said. He said that undermines the authority of lawmakers to issue subpoenas presumably backed by the power to enforce them.
“When we were given the authority under the state constitution to be lawmakers, we need to be able to collect facts, we need to be able to investigate,” he said.
“Otherwise, how are we going to know how to change the laws?” Petersen continued. “How are we going to know how to make a law to fix something if we can never know what to fix?”
That presumes something went wrong with the election, despite the fact that not a single legal challenge to it was upheld.
Fann said she’s not starting from that premise. But she said there are enough questions from constituents to require an inquiry.
The Senate president also said supervisors promised to do two independent audits of their own. But instead, she said, they hired firms that certify machines, not companies capable of doing the “forensic audit” senators want.
“I’ve gotten tens of thousands of emails from people, voters in our county, that don’t believe the system is working,” said Sen. Rick Gray, R-Sun City. “I think it’s egregious that we just blow them off.”
Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, questioned why the supervisors are expending energy trying to deny the Senate has absolute power to demand an audit and access to equipment and ballots.
“It leads the public to believe they are hiding something,” she said.
The issue of the subpoena aside, the next bit of fallout could be political.
Fann made it clear she would not have brought the resolution up for a vote had Boyer told her ahead of time he wouldn’t go along.
“I think all my bills are now dead,” Boyer told Capitol Media Services, predicting his GOP colleagues who control both the Senate and House won’t provide the votes.
Townsend all but confirmed that.
“If you say you’re going to vote along with your caucus and then you do not, your word is never going to be trusted again,” she said.
Ballot processing in Pima County

An election worker stacks ballots to be processed at the Pima County Elections Center, Tucson, Ariz., November 5, 2020.
Ballot processing in Pima County

An election worker prepares ballots to be fed into her machine as ballot processing continues at the Pima County Elections Center, Tucson, Ariz., November 5, 2020.
Ballot processing in Pima County

Workers process ballots as the count goes on at the Pima County Elections Center, Tucson, Ariz., November 5, 2020.
Ballot processing in Pima County

An election worker looks over some ballots being processed at the Pima County Elections Center, Tucson, Ariz., November 5, 2020.
Ballot processing in PIma County

Election workers continue their work in preparing ballots in order for them to be counted later in the day the Pima County Elections Center on November 5, 2020. Photo by Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star
Ballot processing in PIma County

Deputy Scott Woodworth, left, and Deputy Andrew Conrad of the Pima County Sheriff's Department stand outside of the Pima County Elections Center on November 5, 2020. Due to some gatherings around the country at election offices, deputies are on site to help keep the peace. Photo by Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star
Ballot processing in PIma County

Election workers continue their work in preparing ballots in order for them to be counted later in the day the Pima County Elections Center on November 5, 2020.
Ballot processing in PIma County

Adrian Gomez, an election worker, feeds ballots into a machine which opens the envelopes automatically in preparation for them to be counted later in the day at the Pima County Elections Center on November 5, 2020. Photo by Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star
Ballot processing, Pima County

An election worker calls a voter to confirm a signature on a ballot at the Pima County Elections Office located at 6550 S Country Club Rd, on Nov. 4, 2020.
Ballot processing, Pima County

An election worker scans a ballot while doing the first check of the signature while processing ballots at the Pima County Elections Office located at 6550 S Country Club Rd, on Nov. 4, 2020. If the signature matches what the office has on file the ballot will move on to be counted. If the signature does not match it will be moved to a special desk where workers investigate the signature by following up with the voter.
Ballot processing, Pima County

An election worker scans a ballot while doing the first check of the signature while processing ballots at the Pima County Elections Office located at 6550 S Country Club Rd, on Nov. 4, 2020. If the signature matches what the office has on file the ballot will move on to be counted. If the signature does not match it will be moved to a special desk where workers investigate the signature by following up with the voter.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Mark Kelly, right, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, waves to supporters along with his wife Gabrielle Giffords, second from right, and daughters, Claire Kelly, far left, and Claudia Kelly, second from left, during an Election Night watch party on November. 3, 2020 at Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson, Ariz.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

The crowd gathers in St. Philip's Plaza for a Republican supporters party on election night, Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Election night wears on as Republican supporters stay up late waiting for numbers at a party held at St. Philip's Plaza, Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Fox News declares Joe Biden the winner over Donald Trump in the state of Arizona behind the night's entertainment, singer Buck Helton, at a Republican supporters' party at St. Philip's Plaza, Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Senate Kelly

Mark Kelly, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during an Election Night gathering at Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson, Ariz. on November 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Senate Kelly

Mark Kelly, right, Arizona Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, waves to supporters along with his wife Gabrielle Giffords, second from right, and daughters, Claire Kelly, left, and Claudia Kelly, second from left, during an election night event Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

District 10 senate candidate Justine Wadsack moves through the crowd at a Republican supporters party at St. Philip's Plaza, Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Arizona house candidate Brendan Lyons speaks to the Republican party supporters gathered at St. Philip's Plaza, Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Gabby Saucedo Mercer, candidate for Pima County Board of Supervisors, watches polling numbers roll in at a Republican supporters party at St. Philip's Plaza, Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

A woman in the crowd reacts as the first numbers of the night come up on network news showing Joe Biden well ahead of Donald Trump in Arizona during a party for Republican supporters at St. Philip's Plaza, Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

The crowd of Republican supporters celebrate as news organizations declare Texas for Donald Trump during an election party at St. Philip's Plaza, Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Mark Kelly, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during an Election Night gathering at Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson, Ariz. on November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

President Trump supporters wave a flag during an election watch party, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Chandler, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Maria Miranda waves to drivers as she waves her sign while stumping for 2nd Congressional candidate Brandon Martin outside the polling site at Desert Gardens Presbyterian Church, 10851 E Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at Gideon Missionary Baptist Church, 3085 S. Campbell Ave., in Tucson, Ariz. on Nov. 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

A poll worker wearing a face shield and mask checks outside for voters in need of assistance at the polling station at Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, 5770 E. Pima St., in Tucson, Ariz. on Nov. 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

A short line forms outside of the Drexel Heights Community Center, 5220 S San Joaquin Ave., polling place on November 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

A voter glances at voting signs while approaching the Donna R. Liggins Neighborhood Center polling place located at 2160 N 6th Avenue, on Nov. 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Poll volunteers work the final half hour of the night at the Dusenberry-River Branch Library, one of the voting sites in Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Election Protection Arizona's Chris Griffin sits just outside the exclusion area at the Christ Lutheran Vail Church polling site, Vail, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Voters file into the polling site at Christ Lutheran Vail Church, 14600 E. Colossal Cave Rd., as voting takes place across the nation, Vail, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

A poll worker gestures a couple of voters inside the Desert Gardens Presbyterian Church, 10851 E Old Spanish Trail, one of polling sites across the area, Tucson, Ariz., November 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

Trump supporters greet another arriving Trump supporter arriving outside of the Living Word Bible Church voting station in Phoenix, Ariz., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-MIlls)
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

Trump supporters greet voters arriving in their cars at the Living Word Bible Church voting station in Phoenix, Ariz., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-MIlls)
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

A line forms outside the polls at Continental Ranch Community Center located at 8881 N Coachline Blvd., on Nov. 3, 2020. According to Poll Marshal Judy Burns, the place had a line zigzagging through the parking lot when doors opened and a steady number of voters throughout the day.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

A line forms outside the polls at Continental Ranch Community Center located at 8881 N Coachline Blvd., on Nov. 3, 2020. According to Poll Marshal Judy Burns, the place had a line zigzagging through the parking lot when doors opened and a steady number of voters throughout the day.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Voters put on masks outside the Avra Valley Fire District Station 191 before casting ballots, on Nov. 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

A voter prepares a ballot outside the Avra Valley Fire District Station 191 polling place, on Nov. 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

A voter leaves the polling place at Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, 5770 E. Pima St., in Tucson, Ariz. on Nov. 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

A woman walks towards the Drexel Heights Community Center 5220 S San Joaquin Ave. to cast her vote on November 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

Campaign signs adorn an area just off the property at Drexel Heights Community Center 5220 S San Joaquin Ave. on November 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

A voter puts on a face covering before entering the Himmel Park Library polling place, on Nov. 3, 2020. Photo by Josh Galemore / Arizona Daily Star
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

A polling worker welcomes a voter to the Himmel Park Library polling place, on Nov. 3, 2020. Photo by Josh Galemore / Arizona Daily Star
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

A voter drops off their ballot on Election Day outside State Farm Stadium early, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

A voter, November 3, 2020, at the Islamic Center polling place, 12125 E Via Linda, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Voters wait in line, November 3, 2020, at the Tempe History Museum polling place, 809 E. Southern Ave., Tempe.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Voters stand in line outside a polling station, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Voters stand in line outside a polling station, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

A school crossing guard stops cars for voters entering a polling station, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

A line forms outside the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Neighborhood Center just over an hour after the polls opened Tuesday morning, Nov. 3, 2020, in Yuma, Ariz. (Randy Hoeft/The Yuma Sun via AP)
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

Voters arrive at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to cast their vote in the general election early Tuesday morning, Nov. 3, 2020, in Yuma, Ariz. (Randy Hoeft/The Yuma Sun via AP)
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

A woman walks into the St. Margaret Mary's Church, 801 N Grande Ave. to cast her ballot on November 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

An election worker processes early voting ballots at Pima County Elections Center, 6550 S. Country Club Rd., in Tucson, Ariz. on Nov. 3, 2020.
Election 2020 Arizona Voting

An election worker processes early voting ballots at Pima County Elections Center, 6550 S. Country Club Rd., in Tucson, Ariz. on Nov. 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

The television news network, MSNBC, is projected onto screens at the Mark Kelly Election Night watch party for friends and family at Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson, Ariz. on November 3, 2020. Kelly is the democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Chairs are set up on the patio for friends and family at Hotel Congress for the Mark Kelly Election Night watch party in downtown Tucson, Ariz. on November 3, 2020. Kelly is the democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

The sun begins to set behind a voting sign at Gideon Missionary Baptist Church, 3085 S. Campbell Ave., in Tucson, Ariz. on Nov. 3, 2020.
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020

Poll workers check their phones as they wait for voters at a local polling station Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Judge throws out lawsuit, finds no fraud or misconduct in Arizona election
PHOENIX — A judge tossed out a bid by the head of the Arizona Republican Party to void the election results that awarded the state’s 11 electoral votes to Democrat Joe Biden.
The two days of testimony produced in the case brought by GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward produced no evidence of fraud or misconduct in how the vote was conducted in Maricopa County, said Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner in his Friday ruling.
Warner acknowledged that there were some human errors made when ballots that could not be read by machines due to marks or other problems were duplicated by hand.
But he said that a random sample of those duplicated ballots showed an accuracy rate of 99.45%.
Warner said there was no evidence that the error rate, even if extrapolated to all the 27,869 duplicated ballots, would change the fact that Biden beat President Trump.
The judge also threw out charges that there were illegal votes based on claims that the signatures on the envelopes containing early ballots were not properly compared with those already on file.
He pointed out that a forensic document examiner hired by Ward’s attorney reviewed 100 of those envelopes.
And at best, Warner said, that examiner found six signatures to be “inconclusive,” meaning she could not testify that they were a match to the signature on file.
But the judge said this witness found no signs of forgery.
Finally, Warner said, there was no evidence that the vote count was erroneous. So he issued an order confirming the Arizona election, which Biden won with a 10,457-vote edge over Trump.
Federal court case remains to be heard
Friday’s ruling, however, is not the last word.
Ward, in anticipation of the case going against her, already had announced she plans to seek review by the Arizona Supreme Court.
And a separate lawsuit is playing out in federal court, which includes some of the same claims made here along with allegations of fraud and conspiracy.
That case, set for a hearing Tuesday, also seeks to void the results of the presidential contest.
It includes allegations that the Dominion Software voting equipment used by Maricopa County is unreliable and was programmed to register more votes for Biden than he actually got.
Legislative leaders call for audit but not to change election results
Along the same lines, Senate President Karen Fann and House Speaker Rusty Bowers on Friday called for an independent audit of the software and equipment used by Maricopa County in the just-completed election.
“There have been questions,” Fann said.
But she told Capitol Media Services it is not their intent to use whatever is found to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election.
In fact, she said nothing in the Republican legislative leaders’ request for the inquiry alleges there are any “irregularities” in the way the election was conducted.
“At the very least, the confidence in our electoral system has been shaken because of a lot of claims and allegations,” Fann said. “So our No. 1 goal is to restore the confidence of our voters.”
Bowers specifically rejected calls by the Trump legal team that the Legislature come into session to void the election results, which were formally certified on Monday.
“The rule of law forbids us to do that,” he said.
In fact, Bowers pointed out, it was the Republican-controlled Legislature that enacted a law three years ago specifically requiring the state’s electors “to cast their votes for the candidates who received the most votes in the official statewide canvass.”
He said that was done because Hillary Clinton had won the popular vote nationwide in 2016 and some lawmakers feared that electors would refuse to cast the state’s 11 electoral votes for Trump, who won Arizona’s race that year.
“As a conservative Republican, I don’t like the results of the presidential election,” Bowers said in a prepared statement. “But I cannot and will not entertain a suggestion that we violate current law to change the outcome of a certified election.”
Photos of the 2020 General Election voting, election night and ballot processing in Pima County, Maricopa County and throughout Arizona.