Maricopa County supervisors will go to court in response to Arizona Senate's election-related subpoenas
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors responded to election-related subpoenas from Arizona Senate Republicans by filing a court complaint.
www.azcentral.com
Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman, a Republican, said Friday that the timeline on the subpoenas was unrealistic, the request was an intrusion into voters' privacy, and fulfilling them would require breaking state law.
The court complaint says that the subpoenas are invalid because the state Legislature only has the right to subpoena in certain instances.
That includes if the subpoena is authorized by ordinance or similar enactment, if it serves a valid legislative purpose, and if the witnesses or material subpoenaed are pertinent to the subject matter of an investigation.
None of these are the case, according to the complaint. The subpoenas are not authorized by any statute or other law, there is no legislative authority to audit election results, examine ballots, or conduct elections, and there is no relevant investigation, the complaint states.
Keep in mind the supervisor board that rebuked them is 4-1 Republican.The complaint also states that turning over the ballots and ballot images to the committee "unquestionably compromises the secrecy of the ballots," required under state law, and violates the state law that requires the county to keep the ballots "in a secure facility managed by the treasurer, who shall keep it unopened and unaltered," for a certain time frame.