Judge denies Democrats' request to stop Maricopa County audit

A judge denied a request by Arizona Democrats to halt a Republican-backed 2020 election audit in Maricopa County. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Martin, who was assigned to the case on Monday after the first judge recused himself, also rejected on Wednesday a motion by Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based consulting firm hired by the GOP-led Arizona Senate, to keep its audit policies and procedures under seal. The judge ordered that the documents be made public by noon on Thursday, barring action by a higher court. The Arizona Democratic Party and Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, the sole Democrat on the board, sued to stop the audit last week, raising concerns about adherence to state election laws and regulations. "The record presented by plaintiffs, including a number of sworn declarations, contain instances of concerning conduct and expert opinion as to whether the audit complies with law and best practices but no substantive evidence of any breaches or threatened breaches of voter privacy," Martin said. The judge who recused himself, Christopher Coury, ordered a temporary halt on Friday of the audit that was supposed to span over the weekend, but the Democrats refused to pay a $1 million bond, and so far, the review has been able to proceed as planned. He also ordered Cyber Ninjas to share details about its procedures and policies with the court.

Attorneys for the Senate and Cyber Ninjas, whose CEO, Doug Logan, has been subject to scrutiny over his promotion of voter fraud allegations and "Stop the Steal" posts on social media, argue that state election regulations don't apply to the Legislature and the audit and are asking the court to keep the audit's methods under seal as trade secrets. "As we sit here now, we have no meaningful way to evaluate these unsupported claims," one attorney for the plaintiffs argued on Wednesday. "We've not seen the documents, and Cyber Ninjas have given the court nothing other than vague generalities about what those concerns would be."

Lawyers for the Democratic Party argued on Wednesday that not having readily available access to Cyber Ninjas's documents makes it more difficult to argue for a temporary restraining order over the audit. The judge rejected the request for injunctive relief, but that could change once the plaintiffs gain access to the firm's procedures on Thursday.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/judge-denies-democrats-request-to-stop-maricopa-county-audit

https://twitter.com/ArizonaAudit/status/1387479812378222594

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Connecticut governor signs bill ending school vaccination exemptions

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed legislation on Wednesday to eliminate the religious exemption for student vaccines, although opponents of the measure are already gearing up for legal action. Lamont, a Democrat, put his signature on House Bill 6423, which requires all new students in Connecticut’s public and private schools as well as child care programs to be vaccinated, according to the state's immunization schedule for September 2022. “This is an issue that I have spent a lot of time researching and discussing with medical experts, and it is something that I take very seriously knowing the public health impact that it has on our children, families, and communities,” Lamont said in a statement. “When it comes to the safety of our children, we need to take an abundance of caution.”

Following the end of debate over the bill on Tuesday, Democratic state Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney said of the bill, “It is an assertion of the state’s need and right to protect its vulnerable children from the possibility of illness and for those children to pass it along to other children who come to school already immunocompromised, immunosuppressed and dependent upon other children to be safely vaccinated so that they may safely attend school.” The bill was passed through the Senate late on Tuesday in a 22-14 vote. Two Democrats joined the 12-member Republican minority, which argued during debate that the legislation amounted to government overreach.

Protesters, gathered by the group Informed Choice USA, spent Tuesday chanting “Kill the bill” outside the state Capitol and expressed their objections to the repeal, citing religious freedom, personal liberties, and parental rights. The group’s founder promised on Wednesday to go to court over the law. “We are absolutely going to be challenging this in court,” LeeAn Ducat said Wednesday morning, according to the Connecticut Post. The Washington Examiner could not immediately reach the Connecticut House Republican caucus for comment. Most states have either a religious exemption or personal belief exemption from school vaccination requirements, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/connecticut-governor-vaccination-exemptions