PHOENIX (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday rejected an effort by the Arizona Senate to keep secret records of its ongoing review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County that are in the possession of the contractors conducting the recount.
The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the documents sought by the watchdog group American Oversight detailing how the recount and audit are being conducted are public and must be turned over.
Republicans who control the Senate argued that because the records are maintained by its contractors, they were not subject to public records law and that legislative immunity applies. But the court said that was not the case.
The court said the main contractor, Florida company Cyber Ninjas, was subject to the records law because it was performing a core government function that the Senate farmed out.
“Allowing the legislature to disregard the clear mandate of the (public records law) would undermine the integrity of the legislative process and discourage transparency, which contradicts the purpose of both the immunity doctrine and the (law),” acting presiding Judge Maria Elena Cruz wrote for the three-judge panel.
“The requested records are no less public records simply because they are in the possession of a third party, Cyber Ninjas,” Cruz wrote later in the ruling.
The ruling upholds a decision by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge, who has ordered the Senate to turn over the records by Aug. 31.
“The Senate has taken radical positions to obstruct basic public access to information about its so-called audit,” Austin Evers, American Oversight’s executive director, said in a statement. “It has tried to get away with outsourcing the audit to a third party and argued that the public has no right to enforce transparency laws against them.”
Kory Langhofer, the Senate’s lawyer, said they planned to appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court.
The unprecedented partisan recount and review of election results in the state’s most populous county was prompted by former President Donald Trump’s loss in the state and his contention without evidence that he lost in Arizona and other battleground states because of fraud.
Senate Republicans issued subpoenas to Maricopa County for all 2020 ballots, the machines that counted them and other data in the state’s most populated county.
The materials were given to contractors with little to no election experience for what Senate President Karen Fann calls a “forensic audit.” Election experts say the 2020 election was secure and well-run, and the contractors are using bizarre and unreliable procedures. Maricopa County has refused further participation.
The results of the audit and hand recount are expected to be handed over to the Senate next week. A date for public release has not been announced.
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Why do you think that Arizona Senate want to keep secret records of its ongoing review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County??
Because they the Democrat Party dishonestly and traitorously manipulated the election for their puppet Biden?
The Arizona senate is controlled by republicans.
THey may be GOP By name, but by ACTIONS they are certainly not republicans!
Why are republicans trying to block the release of these records? They called for the audit to begin with. Something is amiss in the state of arizona.
Below shows the partisan breakdown of the Arizona State Senate as of August 2021:
Democratic Party 13
Republican Party 16
Vacancies 1
Total 30
The Article doesn’t say how many in the Arizona Senate want to block the release. I wonder how many of the Republicans are RINO Democrats in the Arizona Senate.
Thanks for the breakdown Scruffy. Looks like at least 4 of those republicans are RINO’s. It’s a good thing the appeals court has some judges with brains.
Perhaps they didn’t LIKE what the recount/audit FOUND..
“The materials were given to contractors with little to no election experience for what Senate President Karen Fann calls a “forensic audit.” Election experts say the 2020 election was secure and well-run, and the contractors are using bizarre and unreliable procedures”. The RINOS in the Senate do not want mud on their faces when any fraud is exposed. Secondly, it states in the article above that it is the Republicans’ contractors that are doing the audit, so why would the Senate President Karen Fann, who is a Republican, not want the audit released? Another RINO coverup!
Don’t think Maricopa ever complied with subpoenas to turn over machines & passcodes needed for audit.
Watched some of audit on OAN & presume that the Dem Party & likely Soros funded American Oversight org could have participated & overseen the entire process had they chosen to do so but seems they & all the Dems just want everyone to take their word that no fraud occurred.
Dems / media propagandists stamp their feet & scream there is no evidence of fraud at same time they want to refuse / prevent thorough unbiased forensic audits to provide evidence that could prove / disprove fraud.
Results supposed to be available to AZ Senate next week.
Not sure what is point of Dem American Oversight to demand records except they are worried that the OAN / Lindell televised coverage of AZ audit & other damning evidence of fraud in other states can be proven.
Bizarre & unreliable describes the way the 2020 election was rigged by the Dem Party.
SO IF THEY failed to comply with COURT ISSUED SUBPOENAS, why have NONE BEEN ARRESTED, for breach of law? Or at least Contmept of court..
IT: Because another lousy traitor Repub, Paul Boyer, AZ state senator, screwed the other 15 Rep Senators & voted with Dems not to support the subpoena, contempt charges or arrests for county & Dominion failure to turn over the routers & pass codes or the mail in ballot envelopes.
Seems everywhere we look we find some phony GOP traitors slithering out of the Dem Party wood pile to help Dems impose tyranny.
THEN When we stick all the traitors against a firing squad, THOSE RINOS NEED TO be right there with the dems.