We the People AZ’s Lawsuit Against Runbeck for Video Surveillance Compares Runbeck to Cyber Ninjas Being Held Subject to Public Records Requests
https://arizonasuntimes.com/news/we-the-people-azs-lawsuit-against-runbeck-for-video-surveillance-compares-runbeck-to-cyber-ninjas-being-held-subject-to-public-records-requests/ralexander/2023/09/23/
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Astrowsky said since that information wasn’t included in the lawsuit, he would not consider it, so there was no factual issue to decide. Blehm requested leave to amend the complaint and add it, and Astrowsky denied his request.
Astrowsky said there were two questions to consider when determining whether to grant the motions to dismiss. First, is Runbeck subject to public records requests? If not, then the case gets dismissed. If Runbeck is, the court must consider whether video surveillance falls into the items that must be turned over for those requests. If it does, then the case survives a motion to dismiss.
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Joseph LaRue, the attorney for Maricopa County, said two controlling cases have addressed the issue, both by the Arizona Court of Appeals on whether Cyber Ninjas was subject to public records requests in its capacity overseeing the 2020 independent Maricopa County ballot audit for the Arizona Senate. The court found that it was and required Cyber Ninjas founder Doug Logan to turn over his personal communications. LaRue said the question regarding Maricopa County is “did they outsource an important government function to Runbeck?”
Although WPAA has stated it saw video surveillance at Runbeck, LaRue said, “Maricopa County doesn’t even know if a security tape exists, let alone be under their control.” He later testified that the county sends security to Runbeck to oversee the election processing.
LaRue said that while “opening and reviewing ballots” is an “important government function,” “counting ballot envelopes” is not.