The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has announced that it will be conducting an independent investigation, led by Ruth McGregor, former Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, into the printer problems that occurred on Election Day.
In a statement, county officials said that McGregor, who was a member of the state Supreme Court from 1998 to 2009 and participated in a 2019 investigation into security issues at Arizona’s prisons, will assemble a team of “independent experts” to determine why the printers that had functioned well in the August Primary struggled to read some ballots when using the same settings in the November General Election.
Chairman Bill Gates and Vice Chairman Clint Hickman stated, “Our voters deserve nothing less. Maricopa County appreciates Justice McGregor’s willingness to serve in this role. We look forward to her findings.”
The investigation was prompted by defective printers at Phoenix-area polling sites causing chaos on Election Day and accusations of misconduct from Republican candidates.
Kari Lake, a former candidate for governor of Arizona, has repeatedly claimed that her defeat in the November election was caused by fraud.
During a recent appearance on Steve Bannon’s “War Room,” Lake stated, “Katie Hobbs was not duly elected. Everybody in the state knows that.”
“She can play house and play governor for a while, but eventually, the truth is going to catch up, and we will win.”
MARICOPA COUNTY’S FULL STATEMENT:
“This Board of Supervisors has always been committed to continuous improvement,” Maricopa County’s statement reads.
“When things don’t work, we find out why. Today we are announcing an important step in our efforts to get to the bottom of the printer issues that affected some Vote Centers on Election Day last November. Former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor has agreed to lead the independent investigation we promised. Justice McGregor has experience leading inquiries of this nature, including a 2019 investigation into issues with locks on state prison cell doors.”
“Justice McGregor will hire a team of independent experts to find out why the printers that read ballots well in the August Primary had trouble reading some ballots while using the same settings in the November General. Our voters deserve nothing less,” the statemnent goes on to say.
“Maricopa County appreciates Justice McGregor’s willingness to serve in this role.”
“We look forward to her findings.”
