Maricopa County Board Chair Finds 'No Evidence' of Election Fraud

With the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors expected to soon certify the November election results, Republican Board Chair Clint Hickman says that there is "no evidence of fraud or misconduct or malfunction."

Hickman is one of the handful of local Republicans who have forcefully pushed back on the false claims of fraud as President Donald Trump refuses to concede to Democratic president-elect Joe Biden, and many state GOP elected officials continue to peddle in baseless conspiracy theories about a rigged election. The letter also comes amidst calls by other local Republicans to investigate the election results in Maricopa County and a battery of flimsy lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign alleging shoddy election administration.

The letter, made public on November 17, was addressed to "Maricopa County voters." Hickman wrote that while the Board "considered many theories" about the election results, "none of these theories have proven true or raised the possibility the outcome of the election would be different."

"More than 2 million votes were cast in Maricopa County and there is no evidence of fraud or misconduct or malfunction," the letter states. "It is time to dial back the rhetoric, rumors, and false claims. I appreciate the efforts of our election staff who worked tirelessly to run this election during a pandemic. No matter how you voted, this election was administered with integrity, transparency, and in accordance with state laws."

In bullet-point fashion, the chairman addressed a few of the allegations of voter fraud and election tampering being pushed by Republicans. He said that "fewer than 200 ballots" out of over 167,000 ballots cast on election day had "an over vote on the presidential race" and that the county's tabulation machines, which Republicans have blamed for the election results in Arizona, were tested for functionality before the election. A hand-count audit "showed the machines generated an accurate count.

"The Elections Department conducted the mandatory hand count of Election Day ballots from two percent of vote centers and 1 percent of Early Ballots as required by Arizona law and it yielded a 100 percent match to the results produced by the tabulation equipment," Hickman wrote. "All three political parties participated in the hand count audit. This is a statistically significant sample of thousands of votes, which would have caught irregularities."

Hickman also noted that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, which is currently controlled by Republicans with a 4-1 majority, is required to certify the election results by November 23.