Sham Audits are Bad for America
The post-election sham underway in Maricopa County, Arizona should concern every American. Whether you're an avid or casual observer of this un-serious, circus-like event, it's a harbinger of grave threats to democracy that could spread farther. Let me offer you my thoughts, shared by the Institute on what is happening, what it might signify, and what we must do to protect our democratic norms and values.
WHAT IS GOING ON?
The charade in Maricopa County[1] is not an “audit.” And our pointing that out is not rhetoric. It’s a fact, and it’s essential to name the danger. The Arizona Senate has hijacked a term for an important, proven, post-election verification process and cynically exploited it for partisan purposes. As far as “every American should care,” here's the “big picture” reveal, up front:
What’s happening in Arizona is potentially a mortal attack on the firewall that protects impartial election administration from political influence and disinformation. This model could spread to other states, and it must not.
When weaponized doubt undermines faith in elections forever, it will be “game-over” for representative democracy. And when it's game-over for democracy, there's no peaceful transfer of power. That's what's at stake. It's the difference between civil society and fighting in the streets.
That is not hyperbole.
Neither the Institute nor I will call this current Arizona circus an "audit," as that would be a misnomer at best. What’s going on in Maricopa County is no more an audit than cutting into someone's chest with a dull stone is "heart surgery." Instead, we will simply refer to “the Arizona post-election sham.”
In this article I illustrate why:
The premises of the sham are faulty; and
The sham cannot accomplish what a true audit is supposed to do, which is to increase confidence in the correctness of election results
FIRST, THE FAULTY PREMISES
Post-election audits are supposed to be consequential. But Arizona Senate President Karen Fann (Legislative District 1) has said the purpose of this exercise is “not to change the already-certified election results.” So, what’s it for, then? (More on this in a moment.)
It's reasonable to question the purpose of the sham, because it cannot do what an audit is supposed to do (which, again, is to increase public confidence in elections). Why not?
It's not transparent
It's not impartial; and
It relies on unprofessional procedures lacking in rigor
The biggest “tell” about why the sham is not designed to increase public confidence in elections is because:
It's used to provide daily fuel for an escalating disinformation campaign
To sow doubt about the legitimacy of election outcomes
To push the Big Lie about a “stolen” presidential election; and
To raise political funds.
None of this is normal for audits.
To learn what looks “normal” for audits, or if you need an easy, plain language introduction to the topic, have a look at this, from OSET’s CTO, John Sebes.
It's critical to recognize that in the elections world, if post-election audits are performed and completed correctly, they are taken seriously; they are a big deal, and they must be done with great precision and public transparency – not “flying by the seat of your pants.”
Here is an analogy: Election officials care for ballots in a manner similar to how bankers take care of money. Every single ballot is akin to a piece of currency—just like legal tender or a negotiable instrument. And each and every piece of paper must be securely protected, preserved, and accounted for. Every. Single. One.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the faulty premises and poor execution of this post-election sham in Arizona…and why this model must never be repeated in other states.
ISSUE #1: THERE’S NO “THERE” THERE
There is no evidence of fraud or malfeasance in Maricopa County’s 2020 Presidential election results. Professional election administrators in Maricopa County already performed a post-election audit of the election, and confirmed the correctness of the reported results.
Furthermore, in addition to Maricopa County's own post-election audit of a sample of paper ballots, the County also commissioned an audit of its voting equipment, performed by two third-party Voting System Test Laboratories, accredited by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
The results of the machine audit found that installed software were the properly certified versions; no malicious software was installed; no information on tabulators was sent or received via internet; and no evidence of vote switching was found.
ISSUE #2: LACK OF TRANSPARENCY
Nothing is more important to the integrity of post-election audits than public transparency. Yet the Arizona sham currently underway repeatedly fails to meet this standard. That is likely because the contractor (Cyber Ninjas) has no experience with elections. Zero. None.
Two especially egregious examples of how Cyber Ninjas doesn’t understand civic, elections-related values:
They asked a Maricopa County Superior Court to keep their audit procedures sealed from public examination (!), 😳 claiming they were “trade secrets.”
Cyber Ninjas required observers of the post-election procedures to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Or, as one news talk show anchor put it: "You can observe... but you just cannot tell anyone what you observed."
This is not how real auditors behave. It’s clear that Cyber Ninjas simply does not understand how important it is for the integrity of a post-election audit process to have robust public transparency. They are out of their element, and in way over their heads.
ISSUE #3: LACK OF IMPARTIALITY
In order for a post-election audit to be credible, it's essential that the parties administering it not be tainted by bias. Yet, Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan is a vocal advocate of former President Trump's "Stop the Steal" message and platform. This is not how real auditors behave.
ISSUE #4: POOR PROCEDURES FOR VOTER MARKS INTERPRETATION
Seasoned election administrators all know very well that voters make mistakes when they mark their ballots, and they have different styles of marking. In an audit, there must be standards to determine the interpretation of marks (i.e., "What choice did the voter intend?") However, the post-election sham in Arizona has no documented standards for determining voter intent on marked ballots – and that’s a recipe for subjectivity and inconsistency. This is not how real auditors behave.
ISSUE #5: POOR PROCEDURES FOR BALLOT SECURITY
The conditions in Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where this event was being staged (before being moved – which is another huge problem, see below), have not inspired confidence. For example, ballots were kept in a chain link "corral"—but true to theatrical form, it doesn't even have a ceiling and access control by all visual accounts is sloppy. This is not how real auditors do their work.
ISSUE #6: POOR PROCEDURES FOR BIPARTISANSHIP
In keeping with the value of impartiality, it is typical in post-election audits to ensure that auditors reviewing ballots are bipartisan teams, with equal representation.
Astoundingly, Cyber Ninjas has stated they cannot guarantee any of that. This is not how real auditors behave.
ISSUE #7: POOR PROCEDURES FOR IT SECURITY
For an organization that claims to be "experts" in cybersecurity, the number of bad practices Cyber Ninjas has displayed is striking: just a couple examples include unattended laptop computers on the floor of the Coliseum, and WiFi routers connected to servers with ballot images.
The most recent case of inflammatory partisan theater raises serious concerns about Cyber Ninjas’ own technical competence. After the Senate President made baseless — and now debunked — accusations about Maricopa County “deleting” databases, it turned out that Cyber Ninjas could not even determine that they already possess files they claim are missing; they didn’t even know how to correctly restore images and data that Maricopa County properly transferred over to them.
Just. Horrible. This is not how real auditors behave.
ISSUE #8: POOR PROCEDURES TO RESOLVE DISCREPANCIES
Former election official Liz Howard of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice scratched her head over the Cyber Ninjas having a lack of any procedures to reconcile different tallies for the same ballots among the human reviewers on a team. Seriously. This is not how real auditors behave.
ISSUE #9: THE SNIPE HUNT
Not only are Cyber Ninjas’ procedures silent on critical issues, they are also constantly changing, apparently without end. So, this sham exercise is looking like an open-ended Snipe hunt, bleeding into areas with no relevance, and no apparent hard deadline to complete the ballot counting. This is not how real auditors behave.
And to be clear, in many cases, the Senate’s requests are simply unrealistic and unreasonable: there are levels of passwords (e.g., to access voting machine firmware) that some otherwise authorized County personnel simply do not have; it’s out of the scope of their knowledge or authority and no amount of subpoena or contempt threats can make those people cough-up passwords that they do not have.
LET’S HIT “PAUSE”
The list of problems with the post-election sham is lengthy. So far, we’ve seen that…
Prior audits were completed in Maricopa County (two separate audits, for ballots and voting equipment);
There is no evidence of wrongdoing;
There is a biased so-called "auditor," with absolutely no elections experience;
There are no standards for voter intent in assessing how to count marked choices on ballots;
There are poor procedures for ballot security;
The ballot review teams are not bipartisan;
There is lousy IT security;
The “audit” contractor appears to lack competence in basic restoration of server data
The procedures are silent on how to resolve discrepancies when counting ballots; and
Looks like we have ourselves a Snipe hunt.
BUT WAIT; THERE’S MORE
All ten of these problems should be enough on their own—seriously, these are genuinely big problems, if one is to trust the vote.
It is obvious that the sham is not transparent.
It is not professional.
It is Partisan.
And now, to make it worse...
...the “auditors” have moved all the ballots and equipment (that is 2.1 million ballots plus equipment and furnishings) to another location mid-effort (!) 😳 with no deadline or end in sight for when this process ultimately concludes. The new ballot storage location at the State Fairgrounds doesn’t even have exterior walls, much less climate-control. It's a security nightmare.
ISSUE #10: DOING IT ALL WRONG
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (the state’s chief election official) has been just one of a loud chorus pointing out the problems with this circus-like sham exercise. As an election professional, she should know. And in a lengthy letter to the Arizona Senate, she provided the details.
ISSUE #11: INTIMIDATION AND HARASSMENT
For having the temerity to point out problems, some supporters of the “fraudit” (no doubt believing they are committed to "freedom" and "transparency") responded to Secretary of State Hobbs with anonymous death threats. This is not normal in a healthy democracy.
ISSUE #12: LIES BEGET MORE LIES – AND MONEY
Undermining democracy like this is bad enough. However, the more troubling part is that post-election sham “audits” like this likely will not stop in Arizona. This model could (actually, we at the Institute believe it will) go elsewhere. In fact, those who continue to push The Big Lie imagine it becoming a model for other states. And they’re already having effect. Why? Follow the money.
Like a cancer that produces more cancerous cells, this sham and circus event is itself fuel for an ongoing disinformation machine that spreads to other states — producing more donations, and more resources to sustain the Big Lie, and to keep our country divided — for them (and our foreign adversaries), ideally in perpetuity.
I wouldn’t blame you if reading this far makes you feel like you need to bathe. However, let’s try to maintain hope—as I noted above, this is a binary choice.
When weaponized doubt undermines faith in elections forever, it's game-over for democracy.
FORGING AHEAD
There are things that can make a difference in preserving democracy and the rule of law. None of them is a “magic wand;” each requires time, effort, and focus. But we don’t have a choice, if we are to prevent democracy from being displaced by brute force, disinformation, and dark money.
Here are some things to be done:
Keep shining a light on election practices – especially for skeptical partisans. While it might seem counter-intuitive, or even futile, we must develop more and better practices to provide transparency on election administration processes — especially for elected politicians and party chairs at the grassroots level. (I’m thinking of the “Chairman of the XYZ Party in Sunnyvale County,” for example.) To be sure, there are bad actors who act in bad faith, and they will likely never be reached. But that’s not true of all observers, and it’s easier to build conspiracies about things that people do not know, and do not understand. If democracy is to survive, the politicians sowing doubt must be reached, somehow.
Remain tethered to reality, and call out departures from it. The responsible press must keep telling the truth. And that also means calling something “a lie” when it is a lie.
Keep educating the public about serious post-election audits. Voters must keep learning about the difference between a true post-election audit, and a sham that hijacks the term. Audits are impartial, transparent, bipartisan, and based on rigorous procedures developed by election administration professionals.
Support official, credible sources of election-related information. Voters and the press should rely on trusted election officials, and also amplify them, as credible sources of factual information. We must listen to our local election officials, and support them—in a loud voice. They are heroes for democracy. Contact your Congressional representatives, and tell them you support your local election officials too.
Support the free press. There are too many local reporters in Arizona to thank them all for their coverage, but their noble work is a great reminder of how impoverished the public would be without the work of journalists committed to the public interest. This must continue.
And finally, remember:We must protect democracy from those that would undermine it – whether domestic or foreign. When it's “game-over” for representative democracy, there's no peaceful transfer of power. And that affects both parties. Undermining elections is like a snake eating its own tail. Again, there’s nothing abstract about the risk: it's the difference between civil society and social unrest, pure and simple. That is a clear and present national security issue.
That is not hyperbole.
[1] Maricopa County includes the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. It is the second largest voting jurisdiction in the United States.
