The 2020 election audit taking place in Arizona’s largest county is on pace to be done by next month’s deadline, an official said on April 28.
“The count is picking up significantly every day and with the additional shifts that we’re planning to put on, and other improvements in the process, we’re on a pace to get the job done in the time we have here at the coliseum,” former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, the state Senate’s liaison for the Maricopa County audit, told reporters.
Bennett was speaking outside the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, where contracted workers and volunteers are reviewing 2.1 million ballots cast in the 2020 election. The audit also includes a review of 385 tabulators and other machines used last year.
Bennett wasn’t able to provide an update on how many ballots have been audited; as of April 28, the number was just shy of 100,000.
The Senate has reserved the arena for the audit until May 14.
“We’re doing things that will get us to a number of ballots per day that will allow us to be done with the counting by May 14,” Bennett, a Republican, told reporters.
The audit started on April 23. A judge on April 28 rejected an attempt by Democrats to halt the process.
Democrats assert that Cyber Ninjas and the three other firms that the state Senate hired to carry out the audit aren’t properly trained and haven’t installed proper security procedures.
