Arizona's GOP-led Senate to hand count 2.1 million Maricopa ballots in presidential race

Republicans in the Arizona legislature will perform a full hand recount of the nearly 2.1 million votes cast in Maricopa County in the 2020 presidential election of, a state GOP leader announced this week. 

Arizona Senate President Karen Fann said in a statement released by Arizona Senate Republicans that state GOP leaders have decided on a “preferred forensic audit” the final details of which are currently being worked out.

“The audit will be broad and detailed,” Fann said. “[T]he team will include, but is not limited to, testing the machines, scanning the ballots, performing a full hand count and checking for any IT breaches.

“When all the work is done, there will be a full report for the Senate and County to review.”

According to county records, Maricopa County fielded just under 2.1 million ballots cast in the November presidential election. Roughly three-quarters of those were early votes. 

Democrat Joe Biden captured Arizona's electoral votes in a surprise flip in the conservative-leaning state, by a razor-thin margin of about 0.30%.