Overview

Following the certification of the 2020 election results, Republican State Senators in Arizona pursued yet another so-called “audit” of election results in Maricopa County which promotes baseless and dangerous claims that the 2020 election was somehow “stolen” from Donald Trump. This comes after multiple lawsuits were unable to provide any evidence of fraud and two expert audits found that the election was safe and secure. Alarmingly, the company actually conducting the “audit,” Cyber Ninjas, is not only unqualified to audit election results but its CEO, Douglas Logan, is a “Stop the Steal” advocate and conspiracy theorist who has repeatedly spread false claims about the election in Arizona and other states.

In response, Protect Democracy sent a demand letter to Cyber Ninjas and its subcontractors who are running the so-called election “audit” in Maricopa County which highlights the various federal and state laws that the companies would likely violate if they move forward with the proposed audit.

Separately, as a follow up, Protect Democracy also sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice requesting the deployment of federal election monitors to the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum where Cyber Ninjas is conducting the first part of its “audit.”

Following our letter, the Department of Justice sent its own letter to the Arizona Senate outlining many of the same concerns with the so-called audit, including concerns that Cyber Ninja’s plan to interrogate voters would constitute unlawful voter intimidation.

In response, Arizona Senate President Karen Fann notified the Department of Justice that the plans to interrogate voters has been “indefinitely defer[red].”

Background on Cyber Ninjas

Cyber Ninjas CEO, Douglas Logan, has gone to lengths to shield the audit from public view, making the audit policies and procedures public only after a court ordered the company to do so, and allowing observers (including the press) only after being threatened with additional legal action.

Multiple professional audits, including hand recounts and forensic audits, by accredited auditing firms have already confirmed the accuracy, integrity, and outcome of the Maricopa County election — a conclusion with which both Republicans and Democrats agree. Indeed, following those professional audits, the Republican-led Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously certified the election results, and the Republican Chairman of the Board publicly affirmed that the “election was administered with integrity, transparency, and — most importantly — in accordance with Arizona state laws.”

Nonetheless, the Arizona Senate and Cyber Ninjas are pressing forward with an “audit” funded and conducted by people who continue to push the Big Lie, including individuals present at the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Not surprisingly, the process thus far has been characterized by conspiracy theories, security breaches, and a troubling lack of professionalism. Cyber Ninjas does not even pretend to follow accepted auditing practices. Making matters worse, Cyber Ninjas has made public its intention to interrogate Maricopa County voters about their voting activities as part of the audit — something any reasonable voter would find intimidating under the circumstances.

The Cyber Ninjas audit is therefore not only entirely unnecessary and unreliable, but their plan to interrogate Maricopa County voters is precisely the kind of conduct that federal voter intimidation laws were intended to prohibit and punish.