Maricopa County may engage in another audit of its elections processes — at a cost of $400,000.
The proposed auditor is BerryDunn, a national accounting and consulting firm.
A source knowledgeable with elections law and intimately familiar with Maricopa County elections advised the Arizona Daily Independent that the cost of the audit wasn’t a fair ask of taxpayers, and that the proposed firm, BerryDunn, didn’t have the adequate experience or knowledge in Arizona election law to lead such a proposed audit.
“Maricopa should already have a compliance officer and procedural expert on staff, but clearly they do not,” said the source. “If they did, they wouldn’t be in the pickle that they’re in. Regardless, at this point, they cannot restore trust in their procedures until somebody from the outside reviews and makes recommendations for improvement.”
In their pitch to win the bid, BerryDunn cited their past experience assessing the election planning and Election Day activities of the recorder’s office in 2018. The county brought BerryDunn in following the issues which emerged in that year’s primary election.
BerryDunn also cited their experience providing a procurement audit of the county’s voting system and related equipment from February to June 2021. The firm determined that “the Office of Procurement Services generally complied with the Maricopa County Procurement Code and County Procurement Procedures, with the exception of the discrepancies identified in this report, which were all determined to have a low impact on compliance with the evaluation objectives.”
This time around, BerryDunn said it would review six areas within the county’s elections: chain of custody, physical security, candidate filing compliance, temporary worker hiring and training, ballot drop boxes, and vote center selection and setup. Their proposed timeline would last a year, with the option to either extend for a period of six months or to renew up to four additional years.
The $400,000 breaks down to a range of over $300 an hour for partners and subject matter experts, down to about $130 an hour for staff associates.
The source we spoke with did say MCBOS was right to seek an audit of their elections system, but recommended the county find another firm to advise them.
“I think that Maricopa took a step in the right direction by calling for this procedure audit, and I recommend them for being willing to engage in system improvements,” said the source. “Now they just need a vendor who has the skills, experience, and expertise to help ensure their procedures comply with Arizona law which will help them restore public confidence in election administration.”
GOP leaders maintain the county continues to run its elections in a manner conflicting with Arizona law, citing issues outlined under the previous attorney general persisting such as chain of custody. The author of this correspondence, former attorney general Jen Wright, would go on to sue the county in 2024 alongside America First Legal over the county’s alleged conflict with state law concerning issues with key procedural aspects: chain of custody, drop boxes, voter registration, and signature verification.
That case is ongoing. Maricopa County successfully petitioned to remove themselves from that case. Yavapai County continues to be part of the case.
MCBOS was scheduled to vote on the contract during their meeting this week, but instead voted to wait until next month’s meeting to make a decision.
It’s all BS. MC has the worst and most corrupt elections in the country.
How about $100 bucks an hour for partners and $25 bucks an hour for staff. This job isn’t rocket science. The only qualification required is that you know how to count.
All the smoking gun evidence is gone by now. Rather spend the money on a recall campaign against Hobbs, Mays, and the county election board.
It’s a necessary audit (being the single largest population center corruption here affects everyone in the State), but $400K is pretty rich.
Justin Heap campaigned and won on the promise to fix Maricopa County elections, to undo the various procedural atrocities of his predecessor. And MCBOS promptly handcuffed him, in a deal with said predecessor. Why spend $400K on a dog-and-pony-show? Give Heap the resources and let him lead us out of this mess. Or, is BOS afraid of losing control of the outcome?
The $400,000 breaks down to a range of over $300 an hour for partners and subject matter experts, down to about $130 an hour for staff associates.
Wow, just wow…..where do I get a gig like that for just being a staff associate???? Oh, wait, the taxpayer is paying for it so it’s OK, right? Thought so.
hhhmmmm still trying to count the vote… I think this brings a new meaning to the term CLUSTERCOPULATION !
Just in time for the next version