It's been more than six months since former President Donald Trump left office, but his lie that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him by Democrats engaging in widespread fraud continues to have national consequences.
The most searing example is the partisan audit of ballots in Maricopa County, Arizona, where now-President Joe Biden narrowly won by just over two points in results that were repeatedly recounted and verified by election officials before Republican state senators forced the county into yet another audit.
This audit is run by Cyber Ninjas, a security firm with no elections experience and whose executive posted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election online. The audit has gone on for months, hemorrhaging support within the Republican party.
One state official who initially supported the audit now calls it "embarrassing." Maricopa County's Board of Supervisors—a majority conservative body—has railed against the conspiratorial nature of the audit, with some of the audit officials even searching for bamboo fibers to support fantasies that ballots were imported from Asia.
Now, a Republican former Secretary of State can be added to the list of Republicans opposing the audit, judging by comments made regarding a recent report for the nonpartisan States United Democracy Center.
Kentucky's former Secretary of State Trey Grayson said calling the process an "audit" was a "disservice," continuing:
"Nothing that that report says should be given any kind of credence. ... As a Republican, as an election administrator, I worry about our country. I'm worried about the future of my party. And I don't want bad ideas like this running to other states."
He isn't alone in his evaluation.
Yes like many conservative Republicans, i voted mostly party line except we voted against #TFG. We knew he wasn't a good human, let alone a good leader. \nWe are too smart to fall for "its coming bigly in 2 weeks". Especially when we see you hacking up the grass everyday.https://twitter.com/stephen_richer/status/1428508085513900032\u00a0\u2026— You Do You \ud83d\ude0c (@You Do You \ud83d\ude0c) 1629813072
It's always tough to rank various types of flatly unacceptable wrongs; who cares, they're all bad. But if forced to rank 2020 election debacles, I think the AZ audit has managed to out-douche the Kraken crew. In a just world, Fann would never hold any public office again.https://twitter.com/stephen_richer/status/1428508085513900032\u00a0\u2026— InsertTopicalNameHere (@InsertTopicalNameHere) 1629802593
"Finally\u2014and the absurdity of this is mind boggling\u2014the Ninjas appeared in a conspiracy-theory \nfilm about the election, and allowed the film to be shot at the audit, while performing the \naudit." #ArizonaAudit #Fraudit #AZAudithttps://twitter.com/stephen_richer/status/1428508085513900032\u00a0\u2026— Sittin' Thinkin' Sinnin' Grinnin' (@Sittin' Thinkin' Sinnin' Grinnin') 1629518027
This is very much worth a read. You may not know just how far off the deep end the GOP has gone and how desperately they are trying to break the election system in the US.https://twitter.com/stephen_richer/status/1428508085513900032\u00a0\u2026— Matt Eggers \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf33\ud83c\udf0e\ud83d\udca1 (@Matt Eggers \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf33\ud83c\udf0e\ud83d\udca1) 1629776867
The amazement was only compounded when the results of the "audit" were delayed after a number of audit officials tested positive for COVID-19.
Of course they don't have answers for us..... this is such a clown showhttps://twitter.com/AZSenateGOP/status/1429888929608585225\u00a0\u2026— \ud83c\udf32BackWoods Kat\ud83c\udf32 (@\ud83c\udf32BackWoods Kat\ud83c\udf32) 1629804434
Group projects always turn out this way when the team doesn\u2019t know what they are doing. Maybe if you give the #fraudit more money @FannKfann @votewarren? Grease the wheels of injustice a bit? #grift.https://twitter.com/AZSenateGOP/status/1429888929608585225\u00a0\u2026— Ben Harrison (@Ben Harrison) 1629754518
Grifters and criminals all, from @fannkfann on down\u2026https://twitter.com/AZSenateGOP/status/1429888929608585225\u00a0\u2026— American Carnage (@American Carnage) 1629749704
Just when you thought the 2020 election "audit" in Arizona couldn't get any more wild, the people conducting it have apparently caught COVID and are "quite sick."https://twitter.com/AZSenateGOP/status/1429888929608585225\u00a0\u2026— Nick Martin (@Nick Martin) 1629749356
Other swing states Trump lost are considering audits as well.
@mikejstarks/Bluesky
@kidringo/Bluesky
@westieworld/Bluesky
@mztee8107/YouTube
@KarenPost-n7/YouTube
@h17636/YouTube
@drandrealove/Bluesky
@thebulwark/Bluesky