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

"The audit will be broad and detailed,” state Senate President Karen Fann says.
Arizona voters
By Daniel Payne

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%.