As the Arizona Republican Party works out the details on when and how the audit of its recent State Meeting will be conducted, former State GOP Executive Committee Board Member Bill Beard has written AZGOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward and other party officials, asking for a serious and complete audit.
“Election Integrity has been a personal passion of mine for many years. As a party we have made this a foundational issue. It is incumbent on the party to conduct all election activities with full transparency, accountability and be able to conduct verifiable and independently auditable vote processes.” wrote Beard, who detailed a number of irregularities he found troubling.
For instance, Beard was the named observer on behalf of Ward’s main opponent, Sergio Arellano, and he was to be present for the tallying and tabulation of the votes/ballots. Yet he was first directed to the wrong room by Arizona’s National Committeeman Tyler Bowyer, then he was not called to the actual counting room until the tabulation had been completed.
Another incident that concerned Beard was that during the first round of voting, the box containing replacement ballots for people who had spoiled their ballots was not secured for the entirety of the election.
Beard is hopeful that the audit will answer a number of questions that he feels are standard and vital to a clean election, like being able to verify physical possession of all ballots (voted, spoiled and blank, and unused) and confirming they match the number printed. His entire email is reprinted below so you can see his complete list.
In comments to the media, Beard has refrained from making any claims or accusations, and says his focus is on ensuring the process is fair and transparent. “In light of the scrutiny the body, the party and its leaders have placed on Election Integrity, it is incumbent that we hold ourselves to an equal or higher standard. If we cannot uphold these then the public will rightly and forcefully call us out on this matter.”
No word yet if the Party has even responded to Beard’s request, but he should be able to get answers during the upcoming audit.
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From: William Beard
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2021 7:57 AM
To: Kelli Ward; Greg Safsten;
Subject: AZ GOP State Meeting – Election Recount Request
Dear Kelli,
It has come to my attention that there were a significant number of irregularities, inconsistencies and errors during the election of state officials at last Saturday, January 23 AZ GOP State Meeting. It calls to question the integrity of the election and its processes. The minimal amount of security measure were not followed to the degree necessary to ensure a fair, transparent, verifiable and reliable result. I call for a complete recount and audit of the election in all races including the race for CD 2 Member-at-Large.
Election Integrity has been a personal passion of mine for many years. As a party we have made this a foundational issue. It is incumbent on the party to conduct all election activities with full transparency, accountability and be able to conduct verifiable and independently auditable vote processes.
There are a number of problems that have been brought to my attention. When the first round of voting was under way, I was tasked by the Sergio Arellano team to monitor the vote counting. I was not called to the ‘counting room’ until the tabulation had been completed. Prior to this I had been instructed by Tyler Bowyer that the area was behind the stage. I later discovered that the tabulation was completed on a computer set up by the election equipment team, from Gila County, in a separate room at the back of the venue. I and the other observers were presented with a sheet of paper with the ‘results’ by Mr Bowyer. We were shown the percentages, total votes, under/over votes, etc… While the results were appreciated, the fact that at no time were those tasked with conducting the election concerned that observers were not present in the tabulation room. This breach of basic integrity protocol is concerning.
During the tabulation of the first round, I had a number of State Committeemen approach me about getting a replacement ballot for the one that had been spoiled. I checked backstage and was informed by Nancy Cottle and Tyler Bowyer that anyone needing a replacement should ask Tyler at the side of the stage. I was later informed that the file box containing the replacement ballots was not under constant or consistent guard. This included ballots for all 3 rounds of voting. Anyone had access to this box as it was placed on the stage next to the steps. This breach of chain of custody raises serious questions about how many actual ballots were used in any of the rounds of the elections. Anyone had access to any ballot they wanted.
During the caucus meetings all 9 groups met on the same level with a lot of overflow spilling in wherever they could. This made hearing the candidates speak very difficult in many of the groups. There have been multiple reports that the individuals tasked with handing out the ballots for this round of voting did not check credentials. In some cases, it appears that the noise spill over was so bad that some of the ballot monitors were unable to hear anyone ask for a specific amount of ballots. Depending on proxies, the actual number of ballots that were being handed out may not equal the credentialed members by caucus. There did not appear to be a consistent method of distribution of the caucus ballots. There seem to be instances where individuals received the wrong ballot only to get the correct ballot but there was no tracking of whether the first ballot was returned or documented. Did these individuals inadvertently vote both ballots?
As the number of distinct problems associated with the integrity of the process are in doubt, I again request a complete recount and audit of the AZ GOP State Meeting elections. This should include and is not limited to the following:
- All copies of the original Zero Tapes from each of the 8 scanners used in this election.
- A complete count of all ballots printed for this election by type (round 1, 2 and caucus). A complete count of all ballots voted, spoiled and blank, and unused ballots. These numbers must equal the original printed number to ensure the integrity of the process.
- A complete count of the number of credentialed voters that received ballots.
- Provide documentation that all election related materials including ballots voted, spoiled, unused, etc… computer printouts including 8 tapes from the scanners, thumb drives and other material used to transfer data between devices, etc… are in a secured, tamper proof storage container and under lock with access only in the presence of witnesses.
- Provide a full chain of custody trail for all ballots and ballot data.
- Provide a complete documentation of all election equipment hardware and software including chain of custody of the machinery to include names of individuals with access to same.
- Names of witnesses and all individuals that had access to the ballots, ballot data, hardware, software, etc.. This should include the names of individuals tasked with monitoring spoiled ballots, where and how these were stored and documented.
- Provide a complete vote count record to the body. This should include total votes, vote percentages, over/under votes, spoiled ballots, etc… This information should also be included in the official minutes of the body.
- All of these materials must be available for complete review by independent auditors.
I understand that the post meeting rush is complete at headquarters. As a duly elected member of the State Committee it is within my right to request the above. In light of the scrutiny the body, the party and its leaders have placed on Election Integrity, it is incumbent that we hold ourselves to an equal or higher standard. If we cannot uphold these then the public will rightly and forcefully call us out on this matter.
Respectfully,
Bill Beard
State Committeeman – LD 9