The Republican, Ken Bennett, a former Arizona Secretary of State, serving as Liaison between the Arizona State Senate and the Private Company, Cyber Ninjas, Conducting a Partisan Ballot Review, said Wednesday, he intends to Resign, citing his Inability to Back the Final Product. "Right now I’m the liaison in name only," he said. "I don’t know if that makes me a LINO or what."
Bennett, who has been the Public Face of the Review, was First barred from entering the Audit Site, Friday, after he shared some Results with Outside Election Experts. Those Experts said that what they Reviewed indicated the Auditors' Vote Tally was in line with the Results reported by the County. "I’ve always tried to act as a man of integrity and honesty and I’m sure I don’t accomplish that all the time but I cannot put a rubber stamp on a product I am being locked out of its development," he said Wednesday. "I’m going to step down today."
Arizona State Senate President, Karen Fann (R-1st District), said in a Statement, Wednesday, that a Liaison is No Longer needed on Site because the Tabulation of Votes is Complete and Ballots will be Returned to Maricopa County, on Thursday, after Copies were made and Removed from the site. "At this point, we do not need a Senate liaison on site since all data gathered will now be taken to the auditors labs for analysis," she said. "After the auditors have submitted their draft report, Ken will be part of this process as the authorized Senate liaison. Ken and the entire Senate team will have full access to all the core audit data to verify their findings. The Senate contract with the auditor explicitly says all data and findings gathered from the entire audit is the property of the Arizona Senate."
Bennett suggested he might Step Down because his Exclusion from Ongoing Processes would make him Leery of Signing-Off, on a Final Report.
In his Wednesday interview, Bennett said he was "appreciative" of Fann's Statement indicating he would play a Role in Drafting the Final Report "but I’ve got to have access to the source data and everything that will be the building blocks to that final report. I can’t just come in at the last minute and be asked to endorse something that I can’t be a part of really building," he said.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D), said in a Statement that Bennett's impending Resignation "further illustrates the ongoing issues with the sham audit that has gone on far too long." She added: "It proves what I have been saying from the very beginning: this exercise lacks transparency and is being run by a group with no election or auditing experience."
The Audit is Months behind Schedule, though additional avenues of Inquiry appear to be Expanding. Fann and Judiciary Committee Chairman, Warren Petersen (R-12th District), Authorized New Subpoenas earlier this week, Requesting even more Data from Maricopa County, as well as Administrator-Level Access to the Voting Machines from Dominion Voting Systems. The Auditors initially demanded those Passwords from the County. Dominion has said that they would Not Cooperate with Firms that are Not Authorized by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Fann also sent Hobbs a Request under Arizona's Public Records Law for "all records concerning any audit or recount of, or litigation concerning, the 2020 general election,". Hobbs said her Office is Reviewing Fann's ask, but that it "appears to be the kind of nebulous fishing expedition we have come to expect from the Senate President."
Bennett said he spoke with Logan, on Tuesday, and reiterated he would only give his Stamp-of-Approval on the Final Report if he was Reinstated with Full Access to the Audit. He also said the Final Report could be "thousands" of pages long. "If I’m going to put my credibility on the line that it’s something they can trust and believe in, I can’t be locked out until the last minute,” he said.
Bennett's announcement comes as another Public-Facing element of the Audit, its Twitter Account, @ArizonaAudit, was Permanently Suspended by Twitter, along with Seven other Pro-Audit Accounts that promoted Trump's Lies about the Vote. The Accounts were Barred for Violating its Rules on Platform Manipulation and Spam.
In May, Bennett said the Review is aimed at Uncovering any Flaws with the Prior Election so Legislators can recommend Fixes, not about seeking to Overturn the Results."I think it will largely put to rest the people who are most concerned about whether things were done correctly in November of 2020," he said then.
The State has Decertified the Voting Machines used in the Review. It will Cost the State's Taxpayers $3 Million to Replce them.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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