On Wednesday, the DoJ ‘expressed concerns that a controversial audit and recount of the November election in Arizona’s Maricopa County may be out of compliance with federal laws.’
Issues include:
- Ballots, voting systems and other election materials are no longer in the custody of election officials.
- Plans for door-to-door canvassing may also violate federal laws aimed at preventing voter intimidation.
Pamela Karlan, the principal deputy assistant attorney general with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, wrote in a letter that federal officials see two issues with the election review ordered by the Republican-led state Senate.
“We have a concern that Maricopa County election records, which are required by federal law to be retained and preserved, are no longer under the ultimate control of elections officials, are not being adequately safeguarded by contractors, and are at risk of damage or loss.”
As of now, the Arizona Senate has dropped its crAZy plan ‘to go door-to-door to ask local residents about their voting history as part of its audit of Maricopa County’s election.’
“Such investigative efforts can have a significant intimidating effect on qualified voters that can deter them from seeking to vote in the future,” wrote Pamela S. Karlan, principal deputy assistant attorney general in the department’s Civil Rights Division.
Several Democratic election attorneys also sent a letter to the Senate’s contractors in early April warning they might sue if canvassers were dispatched to knock on voters’ doors. They argued it would violate several federal laws, including the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which prohibits voter intimidation.
Earlier this week, AZ Secretary of State Katie Hobbs(D) said she’s been the target of multiple death threats amid the ongoing review and recount of 2020 election ballots in her state — a Republican-led effort whose legitimacy has been questioned by Hobbs and other election officials.
