Arizona
Votebeat: Pinal County’s $150,000 audit confirms that its primary election was accurate and secure
Jen Fifield of Votebeat reports on Pinal County, Arizona’s successful audit of its primary elections.
Pinal County spent at least $150,000 on an independent audit of its primary election after a losing candidate claimed fraud, a county spokesperson said Thursday, and the audit came back completely clean.
The county’s supervisors, all Republicans, commissioned the audit in August to prove that the election was fair after one of them, Kevin Cavanaugh, blamed his loss in the sheriff’s race on malfeasance and voted to certify the results “under duress.”
Brett Johnson of Snell & Wilmer, the law firm hired to lead the audit, presented the findings at a public meeting Wednesday afternoon, saying that the firm and the three technical experts hired to conduct the audit found no evidence of fraud or data manipulation.
The auditors “express confidence to the citizens of Pinal County that their vote is secure and the results of the 2024 primary election are accurate,” Johnson said.
Supervisor Mike Goodman, who has been outspoken about his disdain for Cavanaughand what he has called his “half-truths and bold-faced lies,” said he hopes the results help restore the public’s confidence in the county’s elections. But he also indicated he believed the weeks long audit was a waste of time.