Maricopa County Certifies Election Results

PHOENIX — Following weeks of vote counting and several dismissed legal challenges, Maricopa County has officially certified the Nov. 3 election results.

During a Friday afternoon meeting, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to certify the county's votes. Arizona is set to certify all state votes by Nov. 30.

The canvass took place just one day after a Maricopa County Superior Court Judge dismissed a second Republican lawsuit. The Arizona Republican Party's lawsuit revolved around an audit of a sampling of ballots that is required to test the accuracy of tabulated results. Maricopa County has already completed the audit and said no discrepancies were found, and that claims of fraud are unfounded.

The GOP wanted the sample counted by precinct instead of the audit that was conducted of voting centers, which let people vote anywhere in the county.

A prior lawsuit brought by the Trump campaign against Maricopa County was also rejected by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge.

Clint Hickman, a Republican who chairs the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said in a letter to voters Tuesday that there was no evidence of fraud, misconduct or malfunction.

"It is time to dial back the rhetoric, rumors, and false claims," Hickman wrote.

Four out of five board members are Republicans. All five members voted unanimously to certify the votes after nearly three hours of questions, testimony from officials and discussion.

Maricopa County Election Directors Rey Valenzuela and Scott Jarrett gave a detailed presentation regarding the election process from start to finish, including all security measures and acts to ensure transparency. Both reiterated that all three political parties were involved in the process every step of the way.

An attorney for the county, Thomas Liddy, also spoke of the legal challenges brought against the party. Liddy has worked in election law since 1995.

"This is the best election I have ever seen in my life," he told the board, referring to voter turnout and vote counting accuracy.

All five board members spoke and asked questions of the officials on behalf of their constituents. All reported receiving hundreds of calls and emails with concerns about election integrity in the weeks since Nov. 3. They touched on several conspiracy theories that have followed Maricopa County's election and debunked them, including the issue of dead voters, the use of sharpies at in-person vote centers and errors with the Dominion voting machines the county used.

President-elect Joe Biden has been projected to win Arizona's 11 Electoral College votes. When vote counting ended, Biden was leading President Donald Trump by over 10,000 votes. A recount in Arizona is only triggered if the difference between two candidates is 0.1 percentage points, or 200 votes or less.

Tensions have been high in the county post-election, with Trump supporters protesting outside of the vote counting center and alleging fraud in the state. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs reported receving violent threats against herself and her family, and accused Gov. Doug Ducey of "deafening silence" as Arizona's election system has been called into question.

Ducey, a Republican, said in a Wednesday news conference that he believed in the integrity of Arizona's elections but declined to call Biden the state's winner until all court challenges had been played out. He did, however, tell reporters that threats won't be tolerated and that the Arizona Department of Public Safety is allocating resources to protect Hobbs and her family.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.