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Inside Arizona's election audit, GOP fraud fantasies live on

32 Comments
By JONATHAN J. COOPER and BOB CHRISTIE

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Bamboo fibers...fruitcakes.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

I can assure the, cough, cough, "auditors" from close personal experience that China has vast holdings of timber suitable for paper. From where does such ignorance sprout?

2 ( +5 / -3 )

In the end the only people who will benefit from any of this are an army of lawyers. Without observers from the Democratic Party present to witness the count it is worthless. When the county conducts the ballot count there are observers from all the parties who have candidates on the ballot along with representatives of the different sides in any ballot initiatives. Having both sides represented among the observers keeps the process honest. This is the opposite of honest. In any event the DoJ has indicated the count likely violates civil rights. The audit is calling individual voters to ask them about their ballots, which is tantamount to voter intimidation. Will these voters want to go back to the polls again worried they will be called and their vote challenged by some group that has never before counted ballots? And what happens if a voter they call hangs up on them, or tells them where to go before hanging up on them? Does refusal too cooperate with this "audit" become an indication of a fraudulent vote? This thing is going to be litigated into oblivion and accomplish nothing but enrich some lawyers.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

In addition, Federal law requires submitted ballots to be retained under the control of state and local election officials. Now that the ballots are no longer in the direct physical custody of the Maricopa County Registrar of Voters there are no assurances that the ballots are adequately guarded or that they are not being damaged, lost or altered or destroyed. The "auditors" do not appear to know the job either. A judge has already had to order the "auditors" not to make any marks on ballots with blue ink after it was discovered they were making marks and notes on ballots in blue ink. Blue ink can be read by the electronic scanners and any mark made could invalidate that ballot. Only green or yellow, which the electronic scanners do not read, may be used to make any marks on a ballot.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

“Everybody keeps saying, oh, there’s no evidence and it’s like, yeah, well let’s do the audit and if there’s nothing there, then we say look, there was nothing there,” 

And that’ll be the end of it? All the conspiracy nuts will admit they were wrong? Sure.

The audit is recounting only the presidential race and the U.S. Senate contest, two contests won by Democrats. Down-ballot races, where Republicans fared better, are not being reviewed.

I see.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Who is auditing these "auditors?"

I think this theater has a greater likelihood of fraud than the election itself.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

If they uncover significant fraud, then people in other states will start demanding audits. This will get interesting. If the DEMS won fair and square, they should have nothing to worry about...

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

If they uncover significant fraud, then people in other states will start demanding audits.

They won’t.

This will get interesting.

It already is, it’s comedy gold.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

First it was a Southeast Asian country. Now it's Korea. These people probably couldn't even find Asia on a map (yes, I've seen those Youtube videos).

These people are living on cloud cuckoo land. Why didn't they ask UN observers to come during election day? That's what they do some third-world countries.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

If they uncover significant fraud, then people in other states will start demanding audits. This will get interesting. If the DEMS won fair and square, they should have nothing to worry about...

The problem for the, cough, cough, "auditors" is that since the ballots have been removed from the direct control of Maricopa County Registrar of Voters office, nobody can prove anything any more. There is no longer any way to prove ballots have not be lost, destroyed, altered or simply thrown away to deliberately skew the results. Any claims they make now are worthless.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

During the real election counting process, Republicans sued in the courts to be allowed to watch the vote counting from six feet away, instead of twelve feet away. Now that the coo-coo for cocoa puffs brigade are doing their own recount, they refuse to allow any witnesses into their "recount." Is that supposed to make sense?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Why didn't they ask UN observers to come during election day? That's what they do some third-world countries.

Ironically there are often international observers at US elections, but they are usually there to see how a well run election is supposed to look before judging the elections of other nations.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Ironically there are often international observers at US elections, but they are usually there to see how a well run election is supposed to look before judging the elections of other nations.

Well, I hope they left immediately after the elections, otherwise all the lessons they learned would have been unlearned.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

A judge already released the procedures being used, so it is transparent. There are cameras everywhere. If you are bored enough, you can watch.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Still, counters are being paid $15 an hour to scrutinize each ballot, examining folds and taking close-up photos looking for machine-marked ballots and bamboo fibers in the paper. The reason appears to be to test a conspiracy theory that a plane from South Korea delivered counterfeit ballots to the Phoenix airport shortly after the election.

This is so mind-numbingly stupid it's not even funny anymore.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Jsapac- they are looking for ballots with votes that were mass produced. Apparently those would not have been mailed in, thus would not have folds.

The audit aside, 120 retired generals just sent an “Open Letter” to Biden, questioning the election results and his sanity.

Biden does not look good. Regardless of the audit, he may be removed from office soon.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

The audit aside, 120 retired generals just sent an “Open Letter” to Biden, questioning the election results and his sanity.

Biden does not look good. Regardless of the audit, he may be removed from office soon.

I’d question the sanity of anyone who believes Biden may be removed from office soon.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

You also conveniently forgot to mention the ‘120 generals’ are also a collection of fruitcakes like the cyber ninjas and have been roundly discredited except by fellow fruitcakes.:

“Retired Adm. Mike Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Politico that the letter “hurts the military and by extension it hurts the country,” though he also noted that it was not signed by any high-ranking officers.

“It’s not very senior,” he said. “In our world it’s not very significant in terms of people.”

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I’m looking forward to seeing the results of this ‘audit’ if it ever actually finishes.

And I mean from an official source, not a blog with the words eagle, watch, or liberty in the address.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It boggles the mind how some folk believe 45 will get elected again and President Biden will be ‘removed from office’.

Just as a little stroll down history lane and a fun quiz:

How many one-term Presidents have been re-elected? (Bonus question; at what age?)

How many sitting US presidents (or Vice Presidents if you fancy a challenge) have been removed from office?

So, we have to wait and see. Are the Cyber Ninjas history in the making or not?

Place your bets!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

How many one-term Presidents have been re-elected? (Bonus question; at what age?)

Grover Cleveland was the only US President to serve two non-consecutive terms. He was 56 when he was inaugurated for his second term of office in 1893.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

How many sitting US presidents (or Vice Presidents if you fancy a challenge) have been removed from office?

None. Four US Presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives but none have ever been convicted by the Senate. No Vice Presidents have been removed but there have been deaths and resignations.

John C. Calhoun resigned the Vice Presidency after being elected to the Senate. Spiro Agnew resigned the Vice Presidency to face criminal charges from his time as governor of Maryland and 3rd Executive of Baltimore County. He continued to receive kick backs from projects that were started decades before even as Vice President!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Jsapac- they are looking for ballots with votes that were mass produced. Apparently those would not have been mailed in, thus would not have folds.

How does that prove anything? If someone voted in person the ballot would not have folds. If they were somehow fraudulent and mailed in, which seems to me to be the most likely avenue for fraud, they would have folds. The statement makes no sense. Unless as Roger Stone alleges a small North Korean boat brought them into a small harbor in Maine. I about busted a gut laughing at that one when I read it.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The audit aside, 120 retired generals just sent an “Open Letter” to Biden, questioning the election results and his sanity

Coming from the likes of John Poindexter who is among the signatories that is rich. Talk about selling your nation down the river. He is a disgrace to the uniform.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Bob, information is easily obtainable if you search "Arizona Maricopa Audit."

According to a letter from the Arizona Senate to the Maricopa County Board, the Board has reneged on a promise to provide routers used during the election and provide passwords for voter tabulation devices. It also appears there is no chain of custody documentation for ballots and nothing to prevent tampering with ballots, like security tape or other devices. Also, entire databases showing election results from the night of the election were deleted.

In short, Maricopa County is stonewalling and hiding evidence.

What are your thoughts?

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

What are your thoughts?

I’m looking forward to the excuses when no evidence is found again.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Bob- there is a ton of evidence across multiple states. Courts did not want evidence revealed, so they refused to look and dismissed challenges based on technicalities. Same with State Legislatures, until now.

If Maricopa County ran a clean election, why can't they provide clean records, as required by the subpoena?

Do you believe, based on missing passwords, routers, deleted data bases, batches with incorrect number of ballots, etc., that Maricopa County ran an election that matches the will of the people?

A thoroughly completed audit will provide an answer.

But right now, my money is on a fraudulent election in Maricopa County that has a pattern similar to other counties during the election.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The hardware is not being released because it would be going to a private nitwit company and is a security risk to law enforcement and federal agencies.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Bob- there is a ton of evidence across multiple states. Courts did not want evidence revealed, so they refused to look and dismissed challenges based on technicalities. Same with State Legislatures, until now.

So, it is a conspiracy! That’s too bad, it means we’ll never see any evidence. Oh well.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What are your thoughts?

As someone who lives there now, my thoughts are similar to the Maricopa county and Phoenix city elected commissioners and council members (both Republican and Democratic) who are tired of the nonsense and lies and calling for the sham recount to be stopped immediately. Every day is another revelation of how ridiculous this charade is.

It's so stupid here that there are still yahoos driving around in pickup trucks with gigantic Trump flags. I've never been around so many stupid people in my life as the yahoos living south of Phoenix.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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