Name: Arizona Senate fails in attempt to hold Maricopa County supervisors in contempt over election audit
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Arizona Senate fails in attempt to hold Maricopa County supervisors in contempt over election audit

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Arizona RepublicView CommentsAn attempt by Republican state senators to hold the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in contempt failed on Monday as lawmakers seek to conduct their own audit of the presidential election results.Breaking with the GOP caucus and casting the crucial vote against the measure, which could have led to the supervisors' arrests, Sen. Paul Boyer said he wanted to give the county and Senate more time to work out their ongoing legal dispute over the Legislature's proposed audit."Today's vote merely provides a little bit more time for us to work together charitably and amicably as friends," Boyer, R-Glendale, told the Senate.Boyer said the Board of Supervisors does not have any policy disagreement with additional audits of the last election and that his vote was not intended as an end of&nbsp;the process."My vote is about patience," he said.The Senate issued subpoenas in December and January demanding copies of all the county's mail-in ballots and access to voting machines. But county officials have not released the ballots or voting machines, contending that state law requires the ballots to be sealed unless a judge says otherwise.The county has gone to court to quash the subpoenas.But Republican lawmakers have continued to insist, without evidence, that there were widespread irregularities in the last election and have faced mounting calls from their party's grassroots to deliver on those claims.Legislators also have described the county’s response to the subpoenas as a direct challenge to the Senate's authority."We issued a subpoena and they have given us the finger,"&nbsp;said Sen. Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert.The county has turned over piles of records the Senate demanded, though, such as logs and voter registration records that can be requested by the public.And the county has hired two firms to undertake an additional audit, which is ongoing. The companies are again examining whether the machines counted votes properly, whether they were hacked or tampered with, and whether the county used proper procedures when leasing its machines from Dominion Voting Systems.This has not satisfied the Senate, though, because the audit does not include another hand count of ballots (which the county still argues it cannot do since the ballots are locked away per state law).Democrats have argued that the contempt resolution was a political distraction fueled by conspiracy theories and that additional audits or hearings would not satisfy some Republicans after President Joe Biden's victory in the state.The push has also underscored the focus of this legislative session on election policy, with lawmakers entertaining major changes to the state's elections."I think we have much more important things that we need to be doing," Sen. Kristen Engel, D-Tucson, said on Thursday. "We have Arizonans who are out of work. We have Arizonans who are sick. We have Arizonans who are trying to get the vaccine and having trouble with that."Boyer may have seemed an unlikely lawmaker to support the contempt resolution in the first place, given his history of bucking Senate leadership and that he represents the only district where Republicans lost a House seat last year.He also has shied away from much of the bombast at the Legislature following the election. On Monday, he raised concerns about the threats against local and state officials as pressure has mounted on them to overturn the results or otherwise intervene in the electoral process."No elected official, whether at the county board level or at the state legislative level, should have to have a police presence outside of their personal homes due to a sincere policy disagreement,"&nbsp;he said.But Boyer joined every other member of the Senate Republican caucus last week in co-sponsoring the contempt resolution.His opposition clearly caught the Senate off guard.Boyer and Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, met with board Chairman Jack Sellers and Supervisor Bill Gates on Monday before the Senate vote, according to Supervisor Steve Gallardo."I was under the impression we had 16 solid votes,"&nbsp;Fann said as she appealed from the dais for Boyer to change his mind before closing voting.Had the measure passed, it would have taken the Senate into something of uncharted territory. It would mark the first time in recent memory that the Senate had held anyone in contempt —&nbsp;a misdemeanor —&nbsp;and under state law, the Senate could have dispatched the sergeant at arms to round up the supervisors.Lawmakers questioned where, exactly, they would hold the four Republicans and one Democrat who sit on the board. Earlier in the day, with the Senate poised to take the highly unusual step, supervisors asked Maricopa County Superior Court to issue a restraining order to prevent the Senate from taking action.In the request for a restraining order, the supervisors also asked the court to order the senators to appear in court and "show just cause" for why the subpoenas are valid."The Supervisors recognize the lawful authority of the Senate to issue subpoenas, and understand that the Senate has the right to expect lawful subpoenas to be obeyed. But the Senate is not above the law, and it cannot demand, upon pain of imprisonment or a misdemeanor conviction, that its subpoenas be obeyed even when unlawful, as it does here," the attorneys wrote.Contact Andrew Oxford at or on Twitter at .&nbsp;Reach the reporter at or at 602-444-8763. Follow her on Twitter .View Comments

Arizona RepublicView CommentsAn attempt by Republican state senators to hold the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in contempt failed on Monday as lawmakers seek to conduct their own audit of the presidential election results.Breaking with the GOP caucus and casting the crucial vote against the measure, which could have led to the supervisors' arrests, Sen. Paul Boyer said he wanted to give the county and Senate more time to work out their ongoing legal dispute over the Legislature's proposed audit."Today's vote merely provides a little bit more time for us to work together charitably...

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Arizona Senate fails in attempt to hold Maricopa County supervisors in contempt over election audit

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