Thread by @weareoversight

The Arizona Senate’s election “audit” was led and encouraged by people with a political interest in finding evidence of wrongdoing or voting irregularities. That predetermined conclusion was the goal, and the “audit” was tainted by that bias. #AZBigLie

Partisan actors operating under the (false) assumption that voter fraud occurred in Maricopa County and elsewhere have been involved at nearly every stage of the “audit” process.

Early communications we obtained reveal that Senate President Karen Fann and others were in frequent contact with these election deniers, and messages suggest that Fann was sympathetic to calls for the election to be overturned because of alleged fraud.

For example, in emails to constituents who complained that the election had been compromised, Fann often referred to the Trump legal team’s efforts and the hunt for evidence of significant fraud.

In an email sent Nov. 29, 2020, Fann wrote, “We have to show some credible evidence for ‘fraud’ before the courts or anyone else can do anything. I have asked the Trump legal team MANY times to please bring us their proof of fraud so we may act on it.”

On Nov. 30, she wrote, “We have asked the Trump team to please supply the information to us and to please file a lawsuit so we can address this properly according to state laws. To date this information or lawsuit has not been provided in writing.”

On Dec. 28, 2020, Fann responded to a constituent’s email by writing that she had “been in numerous conversations” with Rudy Giuliani “over the past weeks trying to get the forensic audit done.”

She added that she had Giuliani’s “full support” and had received a “personal call from President Trump thanking us for pushing to prove any fraud.”

In May 2021, a constituent complained via email that Fann wouldn’t say that the “audit” would result in the election’s decertification. “Our only goal is to get this audit finished before they try to shut us down again,” Fann said in an email we uncovered.

“Sometimes honey does better than vinegar when you want to get something done. The vinegar will come at the end.”

Recent news suggests that Fann wasn’t joking about the “vinegar.”

In March, Fann said that if the state AG verifies the review’s final report and therefore finds the election “uncertifiable,” then he will need to take the matter to court — a far cry from her earlier claim that the “audit” was undertaken merely to improve future elections.

Ultimately, despite five months of work and millions of dollars spent, the “audit” was unable to uncover any evidence that the election was anything other than free, fair, and accurate.

This has not stopped legislators in Arizona, however, from using claims of fraud to push legislation that would make it harder to vote. Tomorrow, we’ll examine these efforts and the harm they’ve already caused.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…