There are many reviews of the Arizona “Republican Audit” <read> and critiques, like this one <read>. I have to admit that I did not attend or watch the audit and have not read the report in detail, yet I have heard from those who have read the report and some who observed parts of it. Democrats and others are celebrating. Don’t rush to any conclusions, consider:
- There are many distorted claims in the audit report, yet a few point to weaknesses in our election process, not just in Arizona. For instance we need to be concerned with ballot security, largely from when they leave the polling place until they are destroyed 22 months later – how secure is the storage? Who can access the storage and ballots undetected? How can we be sure?
- There are huge questions about the quality of signature comparison, is it even a reliable way to check for fraud? Does it really serve to inappropriately reject legitimate ballots?
- Democrats and others celebrate that the audit “proved” that Biden won by a slightly larger margin than the official results. Given the non-transparency of the audit, there is no reason to believe its results are more accurate that the official results; no reason to believe they are accurate at all. Perhaps Biden won by a little more or a little less than the official results, yet this audit provides no reliable evidence.
