Ariz. judge says state legislatures have power to enforce Maricopa County election subpoenas

December 23, 2020 Amber1 US 0

Election officials arrive for work at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:31 PM PT – Wednesday, December 23, 2020

State senators in Arizona are ramping up their challenge against election fraud in the state. Chairwoman Kelli Ward (R-Ariz.) gave an update on state legislators’ efforts to promote election integrity.

In a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday, she slammed Maricopa County’s Board of Supervisors for saying they want election transparency but doing nothing about it when given the chance.

In today’s update, Chairwoman @kelliwardaz talks about Judge Warner’s comments on legislative subpoena power and encourages the State Senate to take further action to force the Maricopa Board of Supervisors to turn over the information needed for a full and transparent audit. pic.twitter.com/yTGG52efAk

— Arizona Republican Party (@AZGOP) December 23, 2020

Ward also challenged the county’s decision against complying with election related subpoenas. According to Ward, the judge overseeing the lawsuit claimed the legislators could enforce the subpoenas without the help of the court.

“He said he doesn’t know what the court can do because the legislature has the same power as the court to enforce a subpoena,” Ward said.

On Tuesday, state Senate Republicans filed a lawsuit against election officials in Maricopa County. They requested full compliance with their subpoenas that demand the release of copies of all counted mail-in ballots. This effort has been led by state Senate President Karen Fann (R-Mo.) and state Senator Eddie Farnsworth (R-Ariz.).

The lawsuit also demanded that state lawmakers be allowed to conduct their own audit of this year’s elections, including one into Dominion Voting Systems. If they obtain these election materials and find evidence of errors or fraud during the audit, it could give Arizona lawmakers the ability to hand their state’s electoral votes to President Trump.

However, state legislators are coming down to the wire. They would have to complete the audit and decide what to do with their findings before January 6, which is when the U.S. Congress is set to review the electoral college vote.

Election officials claim they are not able to provide access to voting equipment due to ongoing litigation.