Arizona election review: A look at the key players in the 'audit'

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For almost a year, Arizona's ballot review offered false comfort to his supporters that former President Donald Trump's 2020 loss in the swing state owed to cheating or problems in the election system.

The resulting recount by Republican partisans raised money for both parties, eroded public confidence in fair elections and again thrust Arizona into the spotlight as a state defined by its political far-right fringe.

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Here are some of the people who figured most prominently in the spectacle:

The key players

Ken Bennett: Senate President Karen Fann tapped the former Arizona secretary of state to serve as the Senate's liaison to the ballot review, becoming the public face for the effort. Bennett joined the review thinking he could improve public confidence in Arizona's voting systems but soon found himself in conflict with other leaders of the review.

Andy Biggs: The three-term Republican congressman from the East Valley heads the conservative House Freedom Caucus and is among the staunchest defenders of former President Donald Trump in Washington. He said the 2020 election was riddled with fraud and was deemed one of the three most significant boosters of the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington on Jan. 6 by its main organizer.

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa
Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa

Rusty Bowers: The Mesa Republican is the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives. Trump and his top allies contacted him repeatedly before Congress certified President-elect Joe Biden's victory, in hopes he would help switch Arizona's electors from Biden to Trump, or at least hold official hearings casting doubt on the election results.

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Karen Fann: The Prescott Republican is the president of the Arizona Senate. She rejected a proposed joint audit of Maricopa County ballots by an accredited firm that would have included the House and the county. Instead, she opted for a Senate-only review by partisans with no election auditing experience. As the review wound down, Fann ordered a separate ballot count in a move seen as reflecting concerns over the recount by her handpicked vendor. She is retiring when her term expires in 2023.

Eddie Farnsworth: The former Republican chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee in December 2020 issued the surprise subpoenas to Maricopa County officials for their ballots and election equipment, putting the Senate on the path to the ballot review. A close friend and ally of Biggs, Farnsworth retired from the state Legislature in January.

Adrian Fontes: The former Democratic Maricopa County recorder helped administer the 2020 elections in Arizona's most populous jurisdiction. He lost his reelection bid in the same election where voters narrowly favored Biden. Fontes is running for secretary of state next year.

Bill Gates: A lawyer by trade and a Republican member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, he made a last-minute appeal to try to convince Fann not to punish the county board for seeking legal guidance over the subpoenas.

Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman
Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman

Clint Hickman: The West Valley Republican headed the county supervisors at the end of 2020, when it shared oversight of the election with Fontes and when Trump publicly cast doubt on the results. He did not return Trump's calls to his cellphone after the election, and he and Bowers tried in vain to broker a deal with Fann to conduct a cooperative audit using an accredited firm.

Rudy Giuliani: In the weeks after the election, Trump's personal attorney reached out to several key Arizona Republicans in hopes of switching the state's electors from Biden to Trump. Giuliani also sought a legislative hearing that would lend credibility to his claims of widespread fraud in the election.

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Paul Gosar: The six-term Republican congressman represents northwestern Arizona and is one of Trump's most vocal supporters. He prominently backed "Stop the Steal" rallies in Phoenix and Washington, D.C., and was identified as the "spirit animal" of the effort. He participated in a video conference with Bowers and Biggs intended to convince the House speaker that Maricopa County's election results were tainted by fraud.

Cyber Ninjas CEO and election review leader Doug Logan
Cyber Ninjas CEO and election review leader Doug Logan

Doug Logan: He is the CEO of Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based company that oversaw the hand recount of 2.1 million ballots in Maricopa County. Logan and his company kept a low profile until the 2020 election, when he made clear he viewed the results as fraudulent. He has defended the findings of the ballot review and called for an overhaul to Arizona's voting systems.

Warren Petersen: The East Valley Republican replaced Farnsworth, who retired from the Legislature, as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He helped issue a second round of subpoenas to Maricopa County officials, who produced the records to allow the ballot review to move ahead.

Randy Pullen: The former chairman of the Arizona Republican Party and former treasurer of the Republican National Committee worked behind the scenes for months urging a GOP-led audit and helped shape the way the state Senate carried it out. He later became co-liaison to the review as doubts about Bennett grew among those supportive of the undertaking.

Jack Sellers: The Republican has chaired the county supervisors since Jan. 6 and tried to convince Fann, whom he's known for years, to not hold the governing board in contempt for its decision to not fully comply with the Senate's subpoenas. The board sought a court order regarding the subpoenas.

Donald Trump: The former president lost Arizona by the narrowest margin of any state in the country in 2020. Beginning on election night and continuing ever since, he has blamed his loss on widespread fraud even as his advisers warned him in advance he could lose the state. He dispatched Giuliani and others to help convince Republicans to take action after the 2020 election.

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Some of the rest

Dozens of others played a role, either in fundraising or in other activities related to the election review.

THE ENABLERS

OANN host Christina Bobb
OANN host Christina Bobb

Christina Bobb: She is the One America News correspondent who is also a lawyer and advocated for fundraising to sustain the ballot review. She attended school in Arizona for a time.

Patrick Byrne: The former CEO of Overstock.com provided millions to help fund the ballot review and an organization he is affiliated with helped screen volunteers to work on the recount in Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Jovan Pulitzer: He is a Texas-based inventor who has hunted for treasure and claims to have developed technology that could spot fraudulent ballots.

Phil Waldron: The retired Army colonel claimed an expertise in election security and was in close contact with Fann in the weeks before the ballot review got underway. He was present at a December 2020 meeting with Giuliani, Fann, and Bowers where attendees urged action from the legislative leaders.

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THE POLITICIANS

State Sen. Paul Boyer, LD-20
State Sen. Paul Boyer, LD-20

Paul Boyer: The Glendale Republican state senator prevented the chamber from holding the county supervisors in contempt.

Mark Brnovich: The Republican attorney general of Arizona and U.S. Senate candidate rejected fraud claims in the early days after the election, but has opened an investigation after Cyber Ninjas' report.

Katie Hobbs: The Democratic secretary of state and gubernatorial candidate gained national prominence during the 2020 election and in the months that followed for maintaining the election was properly administered and free of widespread fraud.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona election 'audit': A look at the key players