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Hickman: Election conducted with ‘integrity, transparency’

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Dear Maricopa County voters: Members of the Board of Supervisors continue to hear from government leaders and the public about the integrity of Maricopa County elections. We want to assure you that proper steps have been taken to ensure a full and accurate count of all votes.

Here are the facts:

• The evidence overwhelmingly shows the system used in Maricopa County is accurate and provided voters with a reliable election. On Election Day, fewer than 200 ballots had an over vote on the presidential race out of more than 167,000 ballots cast.

• The Dominion tabulation equipment was vetted by a bipartisan Equipment Certification Advisory Committee before the contract was finalized. As required by law (A.R.S 16-442), the committee tested the functionality and accuracy of tabulation equipment before it was used in any Arizona elections.

• The Dominion tabulation equipment met mandatory requirements during logic and accuracy testing before the Presidential Preference Election, the Primary Election and the General Election. And after each of these 2020 elections, the hand count audit showed the machines generated an accurate count.

• Last week, the Elections Department conducted the mandatory hand count of Election Day ballots from two percent of vote centers and 1 percent of Early Ballots as required by Arizona law and it yielded a 100% match to the results produced by the tabulation equipment. All three political parties participated in the hand count audit. This is a statistically significant sample of thousands of votes, which would have caught irregularities.

• There are triggers in Arizona law to require another hand count or even a recount in the case of a close contest. None of those thresholds have been met during the 2020 General Election.

More than 2 million ballots were cast in Maricopa County and there is no evidence of fraud or misconduct or malfunction.

Board members listened to and considered many theories about the election results. We asked, and continue to ask critical questions of County staff and none of these theories have proven true or raised the possibility the outcome of the election would be different.

The Board is required to canvass the election by Nov. 23, 2020 (A.R.S 16-642). It is time to dial back the rhetoric, rumors, and false claims. I appreciate the efforts of our elections staff who worked tirelessly to run this election during a pandemic.

No matter how you voted, this election was administered with integrity, transparency and in accordance with state laws.

Clint Hickman is chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.