(CNN) An independent investigation conducted by former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor found that several Maricopa County precincts had problems with printers that prevented some ballots from being properly scanned on-site on Election Day. The culprit was found to be old printers and long ballots printed on heavier paper. 2022.

An independent investigation and report shows the latest move to refute conspiracy theories about printer problems by officials in the state’s most populous county.

Republican Kari Lake, who lost her gubernatorial run in 2022 and endorsed a stolen election claim, is one of the Republican candidates who claimed Maricopa County’s election day issues contributed to their loss. . Lake on Twitter called survey He said it was a “waste of taxpayer money” and that the county election was “a mess.”

Investigations found that some older printers “failed to maintain the necessary heat” to consistently print dark ballots for on-site tabulators, but were “returned to the Elections Office where they were counted and counted. was successful.” news release from county.

“Although all legal ballots were tallied and included in the official results, a printer issue caused dissatisfaction among many Election Day voters, which the Board vowed to rectify. That’s right,” said the county.

The report included recommendations for the county to use shorter, lighter ballots, such as replacing printers and using older ballots.

Maricopa County Superintendent Bill Gates said in a news release: “Still, knowing what we know now allows us to do better.”

On Election Day, a Republican activist posted a video on Twitter in which polling workers in Maricopa explained the problems causing the delay. This has led former President Donald Trump’s allies to set their sights on Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous county, using social media to imply fraud was committed, while raising suspicions about voting machines. provoked the

“They are trying to steal the election with bad machinery and delays,” Trump wrote on his social media networks. Also, Charlie Kirk, founder and president of the right-wing group Turning His Points USA, tweeted false claims about his two-hour wait in Maricopa County on election day afternoon.

Republicans tried to extend voting hours by three hours on Election Night because of problems with the voting machines, but the county judge refused to bid.

Maricopa County Attorney’s Office sent a letter A few weeks later, it said the printer problem had not prevented voters from voting legally in Arizona’s most populous county.

Maricopa County was also at the center of election-denial claims after Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 election. Republicans pressed for the retraction of Maricopa’s election results, and he hired two companies to audit the county’s election equipment and software, but found no problems. It also issued subpoenas for county ballots and other materials.

The Arizona Senate Republicans have hired a company called Cyber ​​Ninjas to Months of partisan review Of the 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County, the final report showed that recounting the reviewers’ hands was nearly identical to the county’s tally.

CNN’s Fredreka Schouten contributed to this report.