Manchin Desires Bipartisan Deal on Much less-Expansive Voting Rights Invoice After Placing Lethal Blow to For the Individuals Act

Arizona’s Maricopa County Board of Supervisors conducted an extremely controversial recount of the 2020 presidential election in a letter sent Monday to both the Senate Republican President and the company it chose.

This recount, which has been going on for nearly four weeks, was plagued by regular reports of irregular and suspicious acts and, as the board said today, “incompetence”.

The US Department of Justice has already notified the company doing the recount, cyber ninjas, that it is monitoring their actions and is warning them that their actions may be against the law.

The Maricopa board of directors, made up of four Republicans and only one Democrat, did not hold back on Monday and blew up Senate President Karen Fann, who accused her of lying, among other things.

In a false allegation picked up and repeated over the weekend by Donald Trump, Fann alleged that Maricopa County deleted an entire database. The charge was made out of either ignorance or political vengeance, or both, but the damage was done.

The county responded today calling the allegations “false, defamatory and beneath the dignity of the Senate”.

“We demand that you revoke your false and malicious tweet immediately,” said the district in a 13-page letter to Senate President Fann. Your tweet, based on the “modified date” shown in the screenshot as evidence of misconduct, is proven to be false. The only thing it shows is the incompetence of your examiners. Their amazing lack of a basic understanding of how their software works is egregious and is only made worse by the fake tweet defaming the hardworking Maricopa County’s staff. “

Senate, Maricopa County, adds, “is only interested in fueling the various simmering conspiracy theories that fuel the fundraisers of those who pull your strings.”

They rented the once good name of the Arizona Senate to grifters and scammers who are collecting hard-earned cash from our fellow citizens while your contractors roam the Coliseum looking for bamboo and what they call “kinematic artifacts” while purple Lights shine for effect. None of these things are done in a serious trial. The result is that the Arizona Senate is being ridiculed in every corner of the world and our democracy is in jeopardy.

A few more excerpts:

“Your various questions about our electoral process show a serious lack of understanding of the right to vote.”

“A spectacular lack of understanding on your part”

“We cannot give you a password that we no longer have than we can give you the formula for Coca Cola. We do not have it; We have no legal right to acquire it. and so we can’t give it to you. “

“We will not answer any additional inquiries from your“ auditors ”. Your lack of understanding of basic electoral processes is an indication that you have not recruited the best people for your political theater. We wasted enough resources in the county. People’s tax dollars are real, their ‘auditors’ are not. “

“Your ‘audit’ is damaging us all and we ask you to stop it.”

But perhaps one of the most disturbing allegations Maricopa County makes is that, as The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports, cyber ninjas are “just wrongly counted ballots.” Read this short tweet:

According to Maricopa County, Cyber ​​Ninjas only count ballots incorrectly https://t.co/riK3xBi6l3 pic.twitter.com/vM5Wa9XjnX

– Sam Levine (@srl) May 17, 2021

Jack Sellers, chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Directors, closed a session Monday afternoon by announcing to the Arizona Sensate, “Finish your report and be ready to defend it in court.”

Image: Screenshot from Maricopa County’s May 17 press conference via YouTube