Oversight Democrats launch investigation into GOP Arizona election audit

Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee are launching an investigation into the Republican-led audit of the 2020 presidential election vote in Maricopa County, Ariz.

Republicans in the Arizona state Senate approved an audit of the 2020 election vote in Maricopa County in April, despite a number of previous audits confirming that the vote was tabulated accurately.

President Biden won Arizona’s 11 electoral votes over former President Trump by slightly shy of 11,000 votes, becoming the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the state in decades.

Trump and his allies have since alleged the vote was marked by fraud.

Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), two top Democrats on the Oversight and Reform Committee, on Wednesday penned a letter to the CEO of the private firm that was tapped to lead the election audit, requesting information as part of a probe that will determine if the audit was warranted, or part of an effort to “undermine confidence in America’s elections.”

“Americans’ right to vote is protected by the Constitution and is the cornerstone of our democratic system of government,” Maloney and Raskin wrote in a letter to Douglas Logan, the CEO of the cyber security firm Cyber Ninjas.

“The Committee is seeking to determine whether the privately funded audit conducted by your company in Arizona protects the right to vote or is instead an effort to promote baseless conspiracy theories, undermine confidence in America’s elections, and reverse the result of a free and fair election for partisan gain,” they added.

The lawmakers said that they are “concerned” about Cyber Ninjas’ participation in the audit.

They specifically said they are looking at the company’s lack of experience in conducting election-related audits, its embrace of election conspiracy theories that claimed there was voter fraud, and reports that the firm “engaged in sloppy and insecure audit practices that compromised the integrity of ballots and voting equipment and were questioned by the U.S. Department of Justice.”

The letter also says that there is concern regarding reported mismanagement of the audit on behalf of the firm, Logan’s bias and history of embracing election-related conspiracy theories, and private sources of funding for the audit that may have undermined the “credibility and impartiality” of the audit.

The lawmakers cited reports that found Logan embracing election conspiracy theories, including claiming on social media that the vote was rigged against Trump.

“The Committee is particularly concerned that your company’s actions could undermine the integrity of federal elections and interfere with Americans’ constitutional right to cast their ballot freely and to have their votes counted without partisan interference,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter also said the committee will study the need for legislative reforms to “ensure the right is protected before, during, and after an election and that third parties do not interfere with this right.”

The letter requested that Logan provide documents and communications related to Cyber Ninja’s audit procedures, funding sources and other related issues by July 28.