Michigan’s top election official and Dominion warn counties about the risks of vote audits by outside groups

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Michigan’s top election official and the company whose voting equipment has been the subject of baseless claims of fraud are cautioning local governments in the state that outside audits of the 2020 election results like the one underway in Maricopa County, Ariz., would be illegal and would void the machines’ security warranties.

The warnings come amid a growing campaign by former president Donald Trump and his supporters to pressure county governments to launch audits reviewing ballots cast in the last presidential election, which they claim without evidence was tainted by large-scale fraud and votes manipulated on equipment purchased from Dominion Voting Systems.

The Arizona recount, which has been denounced by election experts as unprofessional and insecure, is being touted as an inspiration by small cohorts of angry residents across the country. State leaders, Dominion officials and local residents are now trying to block such examinations sought by activists in several Michigan counties. Continue reading.

Observers report ballots and laptop computers have been left unattended in Arizona recount, according to secretary of state

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Ballots have been left unattended on counting tables.

Laptop computers sit abandoned, at times — open, unlocked and unmonitored.

Procedures are constantly shifting, with untrained workers using different rules to count ballots.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) on Wednesday sent a letter outlining a string of problems that she said observers from her office have witnessed at a Republican-led recount of the 2020 presidential election results in Arizona’s largest county. Continue reading.