Why the ballot chain of custody may be at risk

We talked with Maricopa County Supervisor, Steve Gallardo about the Election Audit. The election audit is put on pause because of the location. The location of the audit will be used for scheduled graduations. This means the ballots have to be moved, and the audit will be continued later. 

We asked about the board of supervisors being asked to go to a public hearing at the capitol. Gallardo starts by saying that they “are not afraid” of it and that he is not interested in a shame community hearing.

He said he is interested in telling the public how safe and secure their elections are. We ask him to comment on some of Senator Fann’s comments. He said they are prepared to debunk any accusations that come at them because many of their claims are unfounded. 

He said they take the chain of custody of their ballots very seriously. He said they abide by state and federal laws that require them to secure the ballots. He said they do not abide by those laws. He explains that their people go through training to protect the ballot integrity and how the ballots are handled. He said the people handling them right now do not have the expertise that it takes. 

We talked about another interview with Ken Bennett, the Senate Liaison for the Maricopa County Ballot Audit, and his thoughts on the audit. Gallardo responds and said they have done many hand counts and accuracy tests. 

He said they have done more analysis on the 2020 elections than any other election in history. He explains they welcome these types of reviews but wants them done by experienced consultants and according to federal and state laws. He explained that the board has been united on their stance in terms of the chain of custody and who is conducting the review.