Officials from Maricopa County ElectionsOfficials announced Wednesday that the most populous area in Arizona has begun a hand count audit.
“The hand count audit has begun,” the county’s election department said on Twitter. “Republican and Democratic party chairs drew races and ballots that the hand count audit boards will examine Saturday.
They added that “This is an important step to ensure the accuracy of the 2022 General Election Results.”
Fox News could not immediately reach election officials for comment on the audit, but according to information provided on Arizona secretary of state website, an audit is conducted using a A sample of ballotsTest the accuracy of the tabulation apparatus.
Arizona’s voting machine problems raised concerns about election integrity.
(AP Photo/Matt York)
Arizona voters still await the outcome of the crucial U.S. Senate, Governor’s RacesMany closely watched U.S. House elections. According to the office of the secretary-of-state, Maricopa County, which is the state’s most populous, has approximately 400,000 uncounted voters.
Officials aimed to avoid a repeat of the 2020 chaotic election and kept voters informed of any difficulties with tabulation.
Officials discovered that tabulators at 20% of the polling sites were having issues in the early hours of Election Day.
Bill Gates is Chairman of the Maricopa Board of Supervisors and speaks about malfunctioning voting machines at Maricopa County Tabulation, Election Center, Nov. 8, 2022, in Phoenix.
(John Moore/Getty Images)
MARICOPA COUNTY ARIZONA, ELECTION OFFICIALS SAY SOLUTION FOUND FOR VOTING MACHINE PROBLEMS
Bill Gates, county supervisor, said that out of approximately 250,000 in-person votes that were cast on Election Day, “the lion’s share” have been successfully counted.
After machines started making tabulation errors, about 7% of the ballots (roughly 17,000) were placed into secure drop boxes. Each ballot had to be counted individually.
Gates said that no one had been “disenfranchised” and that everyone’s vote would be counted in the final tally.
“With regard to ‘criminal’ or ‘rigged,’ there is absolutely no basis for that statement,” he added.
Arizona’s voting process is one of the most slow in the country. Gates stated that he expects roughly 95% of votes to be counted by Friday night.
Officials from Maricopa County will keep updating the results every evening.
Officials from Maricopa County count ballots at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, Phoenix, Wednesday, November 4, 2020.
(AP Photo/Matt York)
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Democratic candidates Senator Mark Kelly and Gov. Katie Hobbs still leads their Republican rivals by a narrow margin.
So far, Republicans have secured three Arizona House seats and Democrats have two. As votes are still being counted, four House seats remain unconfirmed.
Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.
