Maricopa County official announces comprehensive review of elections procedures

A Maricopa County official whose name was not given at the meeting said the county will conduct a comprehensive review of its election procedures this year and urged an end to persistent claims of widespread fraud.

"The successful elections we oversaw last year were free and fair elections, conducted in accordance with Arizona law, with results that accurately reflected the will of Maricopa County's voters. So for anyone still going on about widespread fraud or stolen elections, stop it. Continue to do so is destructive and irresponsible. It's destructive and irresponsible. But what I do appreciate are the people who wanna make a good system better," the official said.

The official said Supervisors Lesko, Brophy McGee and Stuart had asked the county to "examine ways it can improve its elections procedures and provide even more transparency to voters." "There are no sacred cows in elections administration and this year, we will do a comprehensive review to ensure we are operating at optimum quality," the official added.

The statement did not include details about the review's scope, specific steps, who will conduct it, whether outside auditors will be engaged, or how long it will take beyond the comment that it will occur "this year." No formal vote or ordinance was announced during the remarks.

County officials and supervisors were identified only by last name in the remarks; the meeting transcript did not provide a full name or title for the speaker who made the pledge. The county did not specify whether the review could result in policy changes, new transparency measures, or a public report.