WATCH THE WATERMARKS - 04 30 2021 EDITION

Arizona election officials fear partisan vote counts could be the norm in future elections

April 29, 2021 at 10:12 pm

The exact purpose of the lights remains murky. OAN reported Monday that the lights were being used “to search for ballot watermarks and weed out phony ballots.”.

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/arizona-election-officials-fear-partisan-vote-counts-could-be-the-norm-in-future-elections/

Auditors hide donors, look for secret watermarks on ballots

Arizona Capital Times - 9 hours ago

What the Senate election audit lacks in transparency, it makes up for in QAnon conspiracy theories. From the Arizona Senate to the cybersecurity company …

https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/tag/watermarks/ < - Website was Down.

Why aren't federal monitors already in Arizona? The Senate's election audit is a joke

Elvia Díaz Arizona Republic April 27 2021

The audit of the 2.1 million ballots has been nothing but a farce, where theories abound about workers searching for watermarks, yellow dots, fold marks and certain fibers.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2021/04/29/justice-department-must-quickly-send-election-monitors-arizona/7397174002/

As Trump seizes on Arizona ballot audit, election officials fear partisan vote counts could be the norm in future elections

By Rosalind S. Helderman and Josh Dawsey April 29, 2021 at 5:05 p.m. EDT

The exact purpose of the lights remains murky. A document released by Cyber Ninjas Thursday described the use of the light, but did not say what it is intended to detect. It indicated the weight and thickness of ballots would also be studied. OAN reported Monday that the lights were being used

“to search for ballot watermarks and weed out phony ballots.” That prompted Maricopa County to release a fact sheet noting that the county’s ballots do not bear watermarks.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-arizona-recount/2021/04/29/bcd8d832-a798-11eb-bca5-048b2759a489_story.html

What is Cyber Ninjas looking for with your ballot? ABC15 inside audit Thursday

By: Nicole Valdes , Garrett Archer Posted at 7:57 PM, Apr 28, 2021 and last updated 1:18 PM, Apr 29, 2021

Cyber Ninas and its subcontractors were also running ballots under black lights up until Wednesday. Officials said their teams were looking for watermarks on ballots, but that effort has since stopped.

Maricopa County Election officials released information earlier this week explaining that no ballots contain watermarks.

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/abc15-uncovers-what-cyber-ninjas-is-looking-for-on-your-ballot-during-election-audit

Arizona election audit: Social media watchers weigh in with …

APRIL 28 2021

While the Arizona Senate's official audit of 2020 ballots cast in Maricopa County … on Telegram speculating that workers are scanning ballots for watermarks.

https://www.azcentral.com/restricted

Fact check: False QAnon-related conspiracy theory claims Arizona ballots are secretly watermarked

Devon Link, USA TODAY 1 day ago

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fact-check-false-qanon-related-conspiracy-theory-claims-arizona-ballots-are-secretly-watermarked/ar-BB1ga6RL

Arizona election auditors are running ballots under UV light. What could they be looking for?

While there hasn't been much transparency from the contractors attempting to audit Maricopa County's general election results, they are shining a light on the ballots. But why?

Jen Fifield Arizona Republic April 28 2021

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/04/28/arizona-election-auditors-running-ballots-under-uv-light-why/4880548001/

I Went Down the OAN Rabid Hole to See What Our Fellow Citizens Are Being Fed

Charles P. Pierce Wed, 28 April 2021, 4:54 am

Oh, no. Not ULTRA-VIOLET LIGHTS! They have us now. Any ballots containing hidden Iron Butterfly posters will be weeded out through SCIENCE.

https://uk.style.yahoo.com/went-down-oan-rabid-hole-085400809.html

Journalists gain access to Arizona election audit; about 2M ballots still to count

Jen Fifield Arizona Republic April 28 2021

Rumors have spread about the workers checking the ballots for watermarks, but the paper that Maricopa County uses for ballots does not have a watermark.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/04/27/journalists-gain-access-arizona-senate-ordered-election-audit-2-million-ballots-still-to-count/4858480001/

>>13548227

Arizona Senate president dismisses media reports tying Maricopa County election audit to conspiracy theories

by Kaelan Deese, Breaking News Reporter | | April 27, 2021 05:15 PM

The Maricopa County Elections Department also sent out a press release on Monday to squash conspiracy rumors about alleged "watermarks" on Maricopa County ballots, saying: "There are NO watermarks on Maricopa ballots. There are many security measures in place when creating and printing ballots, but there are no secret markings on the ballot."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/arizona-senate-president-maricopa-county-media-conspiracy-theories

One judge down in Arizona audit; Replacement worked at notorious Perkins Coie law firm

By World Tribune on April 27, 2021

On Monday, former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett confirmed that audit officials are using ultraviolet light to scan the ballots for folds and watermarks.

https://www.worldtribune.com/one-judge-down-in-arizona-audit-replacement-worked-at-notorious-perkins-coie-law-firm/

Democrats fight 'sham audit' in Arizona, saying Republicans aim to justify voter suppression

Charles Davis Apr 26, 2021, 10:30 PM

At the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Logan has had temp workers and volunteers pour over some 2.1 million ballots using "ultra-violet lights to search for ballot watermarks and weed-out phony ballots," according to One America News, the far-right media organization that was granted the exclusive right to stream the process.

https://www.businessinsider.com/democrats-fight-sham-audit-in-arizona-fear-voter-suppression-2021-4

Fact Check: NO Evidence The Audit In Maricopa County, Arizona, Is Confirming The Rumor That A 'Special Watermark Is On The Real Ballots'

Apr 26, 2021 by: Dana Ford

https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2021/04/fact-check-no-evidence-the-audit-in-maricopa-county-arizona-is-confirming-the-rumor-that-a-special-watermark-is-on-the-real-ballots.html

Arizona ballot audit that Dems fought is underway using tech to detect counterfeits

By Thomas Lifson April 25, 2021

Yesterday saw the auditors at work, livestreamed from 9 different camera angles. One of the tests they are using that would scare the pants off of anyone who might have employed counterfeit ballots is scanning with UV Light for the watermarks that were used on the genuine ballots.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/04/arizona_ballot_audit_that_dems_fought_is_underway_using_tech_to_detect_counterfeits.html

>>13548282

Lin Wood Shares Post Claiming Joe Biden is Dead, Trump Still in White House

BY EWAN PALMER ON 4/30/21 AT 4:47 AM EDT

The QAnon-supporting attorney Lin Wood has posted a bizarre social media story claiming that he saw Donald Trump "hanging out and working" in the Oval Office this week and suggesting that President Joe Biden is dead.

In a series of posts and photos on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where he has more than 844,000 followers, Wood claimed he went looking for Biden, whom he dubbed "Joey 'Bribes' Bandito," at the White House.

"Wow. I thought I might find Joey in the China room making an illegal deal for himself. But nope. No Joey," Wood wrote on Wednesday.

"Got a bit lonely waiting in this room for Joey so my Executive Assistant stopped by to keep me company. Still no Joey in the house," Wood continued. "My incredibly efficient Executive Assistant agreed to wait here in case Joey shows. I left to search other areas of the house for him.

"Not sure if I can find Joey in the house so I thought I would check outside," Wood wrote, alongside photos of the White House gardens.

Thirty minutes into his Telegram tall tale, Wood uploaded an old picture of himself and Trump in the Oval Office—and suggested the image was from the present day and Trump was still president.

"I was right. No Joey in the Oval Office. But I did run into our President of the United States. President Trump is hanging out and working in the office in which we re-elected him to serve in a historic landslide victory on November 3, 2020," Wood wrote.

The attorney then shared a post from another popular QAnon Telegram account called GhostEzra.

GhostEzra, who has more than 313,000 followers on the app, is known to promote a number of unhinged conspiracy theories too extreme even for other prominent QAnon figures. These include claiming that Biden is dead and has been replaced by a body double or an actor wearing a mask.

Wood went on: "I was going to swing by Castle Rock Studio to search for Joey but GhostEzra suggested I head to this location. Is Ghost trying to tell me something???" He then shared a post GhostEzra had sent him: a photo of a graveyard with the message, "Hey Lin, check over here."

Wood, alongside fellow QAnon-supporting lawyer Sidney Powell, spent weeks attempting to overturn the presidential election result with their much derided and eventually thrown out "kraken" lawsuits.

The attorney is also a prominent and influential advocate of the radical QAnon conspiracy theory, which considers Trump a savior-like figure who will somehow return as president and continue his secret battle against high-profile satanic pedophiles and the "deep state."

Wood has openly shown support for QAnon in public appearances in recent weeks, including making a "Q" gesture with his fingers and saying the movement's best-known sloganm "Where we go one we go all."

He has also frequently spread misinformation and conspiracy theories about the election result, COVID-19 vaccines and pedophle rings.

https://www.newsweek.com/lin-wood-trump-white-house-biden-dead-qanon-1587710

>>13548304

Trump-loving lawyer Lin Wood bizarrely claims he roamed White House – and found ex-president still there

Travis Gettys April 29, 2021

Right-wing attorney Lin Wood told his social media followers that he roamed the White House and found Donald Trump still there.

The Trump-loving lawyer bizarrely claimed to his 840,000 followers on Telegram that he was in the White House looking for President Joe Biden, but instead found Trump behind the Resolute Desk – proving he was still president, reported The Daily Dot.

https://twitter.com/dappergander/status/1387518456799563776

Feminist Proper Gander

@dappergander

Lin Wood has spent the last half hour on Telegram claiming to be searching the White House for Joe Biden.

He finishes the story with the claim that he went into the Oval Office and found Donald Trump at the Resolute Desk.

This is delusion at a whole other level.

"I was right. No Joey in the Oval Office. But I did run into our President of the United States," Wood posted. "President Trump is hanging out and working in the office in which we re-elected him to serve in a historic landslide victory on November 3, 2020."

Wood posted photos of empty rooms in the White House and another of Trump seated in the Oval Office which he previously posted in February and was originally taken in March 2020 as "proof" of his claims.

The attorney, who's facing possible sanctions from the Georgia Bar Association, then shared a post from QAnon promoter GhostEzra, who claims Biden is actually dead and was replaced by a body double.

https://www.rawstory.com/l-lin-wood-2652826035/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter

Jerome (327–420) wrote that "at Nero's hands Peter received the crown of martyrdom being nailed to the cross with his head towards the ground and his feet raised on high, asserting that he was unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord."[84]

>>13548369

Q does not know about St. Peter?

#290

Q is a Viking? Thor gonna kick big poppa's ass? Viking Good?

OR

The upside down cross is actually Mjölnir?

St. Peter is Thor?!

What it mean?!

Someone hold Anon!

kek

>>13548331

All Anon knows is that Anon can feel Anons power growing!!!

>>13548314 Trump-loving lawyer Lin Wood bizarrely claims he roamed White House – and found ex-president still there

>>13548304 Lin Wood Shares Post Claiming Joe Biden is Dead, Trump Still in White House

Anon feels it!

>>13548422

>>13548424

Our Father "Who Financed 9-11?" ClownsInAmerica

Is Q team using Bible "Code/Comms" in certain Drops?

Instead of Praying with Anons, might at least some of these Bible quotes actually be Comms?

Please turn to Q Drop #154.

Q DROP #154

Who financed 9-11?

Q !ITPb.qbhqo ID: wmN+33xv No.149467690 Nov 14 2017 21:25:29 (EST)

Who financed 9-11?

Who was Bin Laden’s handler?

Why was the Clowns In America tasked to hunt/kill/capture UBL?

Why not MI?

If we found UBL, eliminated his security, why would we immediately kill him and not take him alive?

Why wouldn’t we want to capture UBL alive and extract other possible T-level events?

Perhaps someday people will understand ‘they’ had a plan to conduct ‘another’ mass extinction event.

WWI & II - orchestrated and planned by select families?

Fantasy land.

Remember, the more people there are, the more power the people have.

Why do D’s push for gun control ‘directly’ after every tragic incident?

Why is this so very important to their agenda?

We, the people, are who they are afraid of.

We, the people, are who they fear will one day awake.

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Q

The idea that at least some of the Bible or that, the structure of certain Biblical texts and passages, might have been Ancient Comms, has been explored by many scholars.

So might Q team be doing the same?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_code

Who Financed 9-11?

Who was Bin Laden’s handler?

Why was theClowns In Americatasked to hunt/kill/capture UBL?

UBL/OBL = Usama or Osama bin Laden

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden

Q seems to Answer the Questions posed in sentence #1 and #2 with sentence #3.

The Clowns In America Financed 9-11 using [their] Saudi Arabian Asset Osama Bin Laden aka Tim Osman or UBL/OBL.

Yet who are theClownsInAmerica?

Most oldfags know that the CIA has been nicknamed/dubbed Catholics in America, Catholics in Action and Clowns in America for a very good reason.

The reason is that historically and beyond refute is that the Catholics have traditionally flocked to the CIA.

Several CIA directors were not simply Catholic but high level Papal Knights.

Even former non catholic CIA director George Bush, a Presbyterian, was very close with the Papacy and rumored to have considered changing his religion to Catholicism.

Now please focus on the Lord's Prayer OR Pater Noster which Q Team inserted at the end of Drop #154.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Prayer

Q team inserted the Catholic version of the Lord's Prayer OR Pater Noster and I believe it was to serve as Comms/Code.

Notice the subtle differences, namely, "Debts" and "Debtors" versus "Trespasses" and "Trespass" as well as the lack of "Amen" in the Catholic Version.

I believe Q team did this purposely to show the Catholic>Vatican - CIA connection.

Many books have been written purporting to show how the CIA might have infiltrated the Vatican yet I believe that this is a fake front.

The well hidden truth seems to be that the CIA was always a Tool of the Vatican as most of the people who worked at the CIA held a dual allegiance to The Papacy.

There are 100's perhaps 1000's of very provable OR "Strong Connections" to demonstrate the many links between the CIA and the Vatican.

Finding solid proof of Vatican control over the CIA might not be so easy as Plausible Deniability is surely something that Top Vatican Officials would seek to maintain.

IN THE END… Does it really matter? Maybe it is best to simply see both the Vatican and the CIA as the same thing?

One Big Many Headed Monster, all with the same thought in mind, World Domination.

https://catholicherald.co.uk/why-catholics-thrive-in-the-cia/

https://cathnews.com/cathnews/61-archive/25148-strictly-classified-why-catholics-thrive-in-the-cia

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2016/05/06/catholics-thrive-at-cia/

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/1983/07/their-will-be-done/ ←- not 100% correct yet a decent primer.

>>13548425

Q !UW.yye1fxo ID: 69fcbf No.680795 📁

Mar 15 2018 21:41:56 (EST)

@[19][1st]

@[3][1st]

The LINK.

[John Perry Barlow]

[2]

[3]

[4]

WE HAVE THE SUB.

HOSTAGE RELEASE.

1000 pieces.

Q

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perry_Barlow

Barlow had been a good friend and mentor to John F. Kennedy Jr., ever since his mother Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had made arrangements for her troublesome son to be a wrangler at the Bar Cross Ranch for six months in 1978. The two men later went on many double dates in New York City with Cynthia and Kennedy's then-girlfriend Daryl Hannah[95].[96]

>>13548456

Agent of muh Qabballah!

Good times.

>>13255400 Q DROP#154Our Father "Who Financed 9-11?" ClownsInAmerica

>>13255406 Q DROP#189The Cult Runs the World > GODFATHER III > PAPAL ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD > VATICAN

>>13255412 Q DROP#306 "Why was the Lord's prayer posted? Which version? Why is this relevant?" SEE DROP #154 ABOVE

>>13255420 Q DROP#714Q Threat to Clowns > CIA > Vatican> Catholics In Action, Catholics In America, Clowns In America "SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST. [P]"

>>13255422 Q DROP#851CIA & Vatican Helped Nazi Officers Escape

>>13255426 Q DROP#936The Nazi Order > Vatican > Jesuits

>>13255427 Q DROP#997Pope will have a Terrible May - "Those who backed him pushed into the LIGHT"

>>13255445 Q DROP#1002The BITE that has no CURE > Vatican Viper Symbolism "Symbolism will be their downfall"

>>13255449 Q DROP#1021Did US taxpayers pay $3.5 Billion for the Predatory Sexual Abuse Perpetrated upon Americans by the Roman Catholic Church?

>>13255465 Q DROP#1413Guardian of the Pope Owl Photo > Q named the owl photo "Guardian_P"

>>13255476 Q DROP#1763Sex Abuse in the Church > "Those you are taught to TRUST the most..... Dark to LIGHT."

>>13255480 Q DROP#1831POTUS Roasts Corrupt & Evil Hillary Clinton at Catholic Charity Event > "Surrounded by EVIL."

>>13255494 Q DROP#1879100s of Priests in PA Molested 1000s of Children "House of GOD?"

>>13255500 Q DROP#1916Priest Hits Crying Baby at Baptism > "Man of God?"

>>13255509 Q DROP#1950Holy See Corrupt Universal Government of the Catholic Church

>>13255518 Q DROP#2152Pope Francis Compares Vatican Whistleblower to Satan

>>13255546 Q DROP#2590Australian Cardinal George Pell Found Guilty of Sexual Abuse > "[CARDINAL PELL] Dark to LIGHT."

>>13255553 Q DROP#2594Cardinal George Pell 3rd in Command at Vatican "Define "pecking" [Animals].

>>13255560 Q DROP#2894Vatican Treasurer Cardinal George Pell Found Guilty of Child Sex Charges "Many more to come? Dark to LIGHT."

>>13255567 Q DROP#2918Trump's Roast of Hillary Back in 2016 Reveals Her Dark Secrets > "Symbolism will be their downfall"

>>13255572 Q DROP#3565Q Links to Pope's Tweet on Human Trafficking > "GODFATHER III. It's going to be BIBLICAL"

>>13255580 Q DROP#3709Vatican Ambassador to France Resigns after Molestation Allegations > "Those you are taught to trust the most...."

>>13255587 Q DROP#3957"Sleepers [Pro] will shift position [Nay]. [Paul Ryan_Fox]" Rupert Murdoch Papal Knight Fox news dominated by Catholics.

>>13255598 Q DROP#4303CIA's Use of Journalists and Clergy in Intelligence Operations "CIA coming back into the news [soon]?" Who really controls the Media?

>>13255615 Q DROP#4408We Are in the Middle of Another Enlightenment Approaching the Precipice. Against (the monarchy, the privileges of the nobility, the political power of the Catholic Church)

>>13255633 Q DROP#4429Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò Letter to POTUS-Biblical Battle Light vs Dark> "Armor of God" Vigano is not our friend.

>>13255642 Q DROP#4799Rebuffed by Vatican, Pompeo Assails China and Aligns With Pope’s Critics

When does a Church become a playground?

When does a Church become a business?

When does a Church become political?

When does a Church become corrupt?

When does a Church become willfully blind?

When does a Church become controlled?

>>13548492

My Krishna' cock is bigger than your Jesus' cock!

>>13548504

System Of A Down - My Cock is much Bigger than Yours (Cigaro live intro)

137,133 views•Feb 14, 2017

teehee!

>>13548503

>>13548503

>>13548514

What the Hellllll…

>>13548517

ahhhhh! ahhhhhh!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

oooooooooooooooooohhhh!!!!

>>13548519

We still spin the SOAD black circle ever so often.

Wake up

(Wake up)

Grab a brush and put a little make-up

Hide the scars to fade away the shake-up

(Hide the scars to fade away the…)

Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?

Here you go create another fable

You wanted to

Grab a brush and put a little makeup

You wanted to

Hide the scars to fade away the shake-up

You wanted to

Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?

You wanted to

I don't think you trust

In… My… Self-righteous suicide

I… Cry… When angels deserve to die

Wake up

(Wake up)

Grab a brush and put a little make-up

Hide the scars to fade away the

(Hide the scars to fade away the shake-up)

Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?

Here you go create another fable

You wanted to

Grab a brush and put a little make-up

You wanted to

Hide the scars to fade away the shake-up

You wanted to

Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?

You wanted to

I don't think you trust

In… My… Self-righteous suicide

I… Cry… When angels deserve to die

In, my, Self-righteous suicide

I, cry, when angels deserve to die

Father (father)

Father (father)

Father (father)

Father (father)

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit

Father, into your hands

Why have you forsaken me?

In your eyes forsaken me

In your thoughts forsaken me

In your heart forsaken me, oh

Trust in my self-righteous suicide

I cry when angels deserve to die

In my self-righteous suicide

I cry when angels deserve to die

>>13548545

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Eli_Lama_Sabachthani

https://faithalone.org/grace-in-focus-articles/eloi-eloi-lama-sabachthani/

22 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises[a] of Israel.

4 In you our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

5 To you they cried and were rescued;

in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;

they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;

you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.

10 On you was I cast from my birth,

and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

11 Be not far from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me;

strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

13 they open wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

it is melted within my breast;

15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet[b]—

17 I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

18 they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

20 Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dog!

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued[c] me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

26 The afflicted[d] shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive.

30 Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

that he has done it.

>>13548551

Father!!!

>>13548553

>>13548555

>>13548556

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.!

Five things to know about Arizona's election audit

BY MAX GREENWOOD - 04/30/21 06:00 AM EDT

Arizona has emerged as the last battleground for the fight over former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of a stolen 2020 election.

For the past week, Republicans in the state Senate have pushed forward with an audit of the 2020 vote in Maricopa County, a massive undertaking that has pleased Trump and his supporters, while stirring outrage among Democrats, who have sought to stop the effort.

Here are five things to know about the audit of the 2020 election results:

Why is this happening?

The audit is the latest effort by Trump loyalists in the state to call the results of the 2020 presidential election into question, even after multiple audits since November determined that vote was tallied accurately.

What’s different this time, however, is that the audit is being carried out by the state Senate itself. Republican state senators used their subpoena power to demand that election officials hand over all of Maricopa County’s 2.1 million ballots, as well as its voting machines and voter registration information.

Despite legal efforts by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to block the subpoenas, a judge declared the demands valid and directed officials to hand over the requested materials. State senators are conducting a hand count of the ballots, as well as an examination of the voting machines and voter data.

The state Senate’s audit is widely viewed as a political exercise, intended to placate Trump’s supporters, many of whom remain convinced that the 2020 election was “stolen” from the former president. In fact, no evidence has been uncovered that backs up those claims.

Who’s behind it?

Arizona state Senate Republicans have hired a little-known Florida-based firm called Cyber Ninjas to run the audit, a decision that critics say is a red flag.

Cyber Ninjas has no experience in elections, and its website describes it as specializing in “all areas of application security, ranging from your traditional web application to mobile or thick client applications.”

Democrats have also raised concerns about past tweets from the company’s chief executive, Doug Logan, spreading conspiracy theories about a stolen election in Arizona. Those tweets were deleted earlier this year.

Cyber Ninjas isn’t the only firm involved in the audit. The state Senate has also hired Wake Technology Services, Inc. to conduct the hand count of the ballots. The company previously conducted a hand count of the vote in Fulton County, Pa.

While part of the audit is being financed by taxpayer money, the effort also has some prominent backers. One America News Network, the pro-Trump cable channel that has been live streaming the audit, has started to fundraise for the effort.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/551012-five-things-to-know-about-arizonas-election-audit

>>13548576

What are Trump and Democrats saying?

The audit has so far proven polarizing.

Trump has repeatedly praised the undertaking as a valiant effort to root out voter fraud and malfeasance, echoing the same baseless claims he has made about the election results for months. In several statements issued through his leadership PAC, Save America, he’s cast the audit as a popular effort while maligning Democrats for fighting it.

“Incredible organization and integrity taking place in Arizona with respect to the Fraudulent 2020 Presidential Election,” Trump said in a recent statement. “These are Great American Patriots, but watch, the Radical Left Democrats ‘demean and destroy campaign’ will start very soon.”

Democrats and elections experts have expressed grave concern about the audit, arguing in particular that the process has so far lacked transparency and warning that partisan elected officials may be sacrificing accuracy and security in favor of speed and political convenience.

Critics have also raised concerns about the audit’s potential impacts on voter privacy and the security of their ballots. A group of election security and administration experts sent a letter to the Justice Department on Thursday asking federal officials to dispatch monitors to the audit site.

State Democrats in Arizona, meanwhile, are suing to halt the audit. A judge agreed to do so last week if the plaintiffs posted a $1 million bond, though the Democrats in the lawsuit refused. A new judge took over the case this week after the previous judge recused himself.

Has the audit found any fraud?

That’s still unclear, but it’s highly unlikely that the audit will uncover the scale of mass voter fraud that Trump and his allies have alleged. Again, previous audits of the vote in Maricopa County determined that the vote was counted accurately and that the voting machines used had not been tampered with.

And while no state legislature has gone as far as Arizona’s in examining Trump’s claims of fraud, several have conducted their own hearings and reviews on the allegations. None, however, have uncovered credible evidence to back up the allegations.

Cyber Ninjas has agreed to release a report of the audit within 60 days.

What are the implications of the audit?

The audit isn’t going to be used to reverse the election results in Arizona. It can’t be, and state senators have said as much.

The election results were certified by state officials months ago, effectively solidifying Biden’s win in Arizona. What’s more, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate signed off on the Electoral College vote in January, two weeks before Biden took office.

Instead, Republicans in the Arizona state Senate say that the audit is simply a means of restoring voters’ confidence in the elections process and is necessary to help them decide whether to craft changes to the state’s election laws – something that GOP-controlled legislatures in other states have either already done or are working toward in the wake of the 2020 election.

Yet it also comes with the risk of eroding faith in Arizona’s elections.

Democrats and voting rights advocates have warned that the audit has put ballots at risk of being tampered with. What’s more, the catalyst for the audit – Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud and malfeasance – have stirred suspicions that Republicans may be trying to discredit unfavorable election results.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/551012-five-things-to-know-about-arizonas-election-audit

>>13548576

>>13548578

Anyone ever play that video game where when a player gets shot, dude is all "This is not happening!".

Yeah, that.

kek

>>13548577

>>13548727

>>13548742