CLAIM: Maricopa County, Arizona, officials admit to violating the law by improperly certifying malfunctioning machines during elections.
Instagram post from November 18th (direct link, archive link) by right-wing account Raging Patriots shows a photo of a person feeding a paper ballot into a vote tabulation machine.
The photo reads, “BREAKING Maricopa County Elections Department admits to violating the law by improperly certifying machines that broke down on Election Day.”
It received over 20,000 likes in 11 days.
More from the USA TODAY Fact Check team:
Our rating: False
A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Elections Department called the claim “completely false” and said the county is not even responsible for certifying election machines. There were no credible reports stating that election officials violated the law.
“The county is not breaking any laws.”
The post did not specify the type of machine that allegedly malfunctioned or the election year in question. As detailed in a previous USA TODAY fact check, this is an apparent reference to issues with ballot printing machines that caused problems with vote tabulation machines during his 2022 midterm elections.Ann Research by a retired state supreme court judge found Those problems were caused by the switch Even bigger ballots printed on thicker, thicker paper.
fact check: Kali Lake's lawsuit falsely claims to show Arizona “failed to perform signature verification”
But claims that officials broke the law are “completely false.” jennifer lewerMaricopa County's deputy elections director for public information told USA TODAY.
“The county did not violate any laws and we did not 'admit' them as stated in the post,” Liewer said in an email.
Arizona has been the focus of a series of false claims of election fraud since 2020, when President Joe Biden won the battleground state by about 10,000 votes. Publicly acknowledged violations of the law should be reported by legitimate media outlets, but there were no credible reports that authorities said they had violated the law.
Additionally, Leewer said there is no possibility that Maricopa County officials improperly certified election equipment because “the county does not certify the machines.”
instead, secretary of state And that U.S. Election Assistance Commission Authenticate election equipment used in Arizona, Sophia Solis A spokesperson for the Arizona Secretary of State previously told USA TODAY.
under State LawTo obtain certification, election equipment must meet standards set by the . Support the American Vote Act of 2002 Get tested at an accredited laboratory.
Counties are responsible for conducting other types of tests to ensure machines are accurately recording and counting votes. This process is Logic and accuracy testingsaid Leewer.
“But that is not considered 'certification,'” Liewer said.
The claim reiterates a claim previously debunked by USA TODAY that the state's voting machines were not certified before the midterm elections and, as a result, the results could not be legally certified. There is.
USA TODAY reports that Raging Patriots has made headlines, including false claims that herpes infections can be a side effect of coronavirus vaccinations and that former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard sparked an Internal Revenue Service audit of the former lawmaker. Fact-checked claims made in the past. Send House Speaker Nancy Pelosi her $600.01 payment to Venmo.
USA TODAY reached out to The Raging Patriot but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-checking sources:
- jennifer lewerNov. 21-28, email exchange with USA TODAY.
- Arizona State Legislature, accessed November 28. 16-442, approved by the Committee. Introduction of vote tabulation equipment. Experimental use.emergency
- U.S. Election Assistance Commission, October 10. system certification
- U.S. Election Assistance Commission, June 7. Help America Vote Act
- Maricopa County, accessed November 23rd. Maricopa County Election Facts | Voting Equipment and Accuracy
- Maricopa County, April 10th 2022 Maricopa County General Election Ballot-on-Demand Printer Survey
- Maricopa County, April 10th Printer investigation completed
- USA TODAY, Dec. 14, 2022 Fact Check: Arizona voting equipment certified ahead of 2022 midterm elections
Thank you for supporting our journalism.you can Subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
USA Today is Verified signer We are part of the international fact-checking network and have a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness, and transparency. Our fact-checking work is supported in part by: Permission from meta.
