The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has settled a lawsuit brought by state and county Republican officials over tests to ensure the accuracy of vote tabulation equipment before elections.

Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Gina Swoboda filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County in July, alleging that the county and secretary of state failed to properly test vote tabulation equipment as required by state law.

All elections, logic and accuracy tests will be conducted using test ballots brought in by the Secretary of State. Processes that the public can view online or in person.

The settlement agreement signed on August 12 only addresses one of these issues. That’s Republican officials’ contention that the secretary of state was merely testing a “backup” machine in Maricopa County.

In a statement posted on social media, the Arizona Republican Party said, “Previously, under former Secretary of Defense Katie Hobbs and now Adrian Fontes, only preliminary tabulators were tested. Elections are vulnerable. “This raises serious concerns about transparency.” “This was not enough to ensure the integrity of our vote.”

According to the settlement, counties “shall provide only county-provided tabulation tools and accessible voting devices.” [Maricopa County Board of Supervisors] We plan to deploy them at early voting locations and voting centers on Election Day. ”

The Maricopa County Elections Department said in a statement that it tested machines that had not “yet” been assigned to polling places when the Secretary of State did the testing, but that those machines would still be available for use on Election Day. said. The county also conducts its own tests of all counting equipment before each election, in accordance with the Election Procedures Manual, a rulebook that provides instructions for counties regarding election administration, the county said.

“Maricopa County follows state and federal law in administering elections and does so with the cooperation of many partners, including political parties. Maricopa County Elections always completes all “We are testing the counting equipment.”

The county elections office indicated it was resolving the lawsuit to avoid protracted litigation as the November general election approaches.

“With less than three months until the general election, we want to ensure that elections are conducted fairly and transparently and that voters can trust that all legal ballots will be counted,” the statement said. There continues to be a focus on “As evidenced by numerous lawsuits over the past several years, litigation is costly and an unnecessary distraction at a time when administering future elections should be a top priority.”

Multiple lawsuits by candidates and other parties Challenging the accuracy of Maricopa County’s election process After the 2020 and 2022 elections, the county failed to provide evidence that it failed to follow state law governing election administration.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct which officials filed the lawsuit.