Tens of Thousands of 'Inactive' Voters Added to Maricopa Roll in 'Steroid-Like Injection' – Lawsuit
Two unsuccessful candidates in last month’s elections in Arizona are voicing concerns that an increase in the number of inactive or deactivated voters could have had an impact on their defeats.
Republican Josh Barnett, who lost his contest for Arizona’s First Congressional District, filed a lawsuit citing the increase among the factors that led to the election being improperly conducted.
The lawsuit, filed on Nov. 29, was dismissed in early December by a Maricopa County Superior Court. It is unclear whether Barnett will appeal the ruling.
Republican Christian Lamar, who lost his Second District state House race, told the The Arizona Sun Times this week that the numbers in his district do not add up.
“So far, a majority of 7,400 ‘newly found’ voters in my district still have a status of deactivated or removed. Also, they are mostly party not determined (unaffiliated) and more Democrats than Republicans in ‘newly found’ voters. From mostly blue precincts too,” Lamar said.
The Sun Times said voters go on the inactive list if materials sent to them are returned to an election office twice. Inactive voters can still vote. If after four years as an inactive voter they have not voted, a voter’s registration is canceled.
Lamar said his concerns are due to the fact that inactive voters usually do not cast ballots at the same rate as active voters but seem to have done so in his district.
He noted that according to data he received, voters in his district increased by about 15,000 between March and November, and that almost half were inactive voters.
Attorney Leo Donofrio, who worked with Barnett on his lawsuit, posted tweets of his efforts to determine what took place.
2/6 CRUCIAL STATISTIC:
Avg of Maricopa County Inactive Voters measured as % of whole state:
2016 = .548%
2018 = .525%
2020 = .579%Gen Election ’22
MARICOPA=.73%
Diff = 18%
Total AZ Inactives: 689,231 x .18% = 124061Almost the exact number needed to beat Finchem & Masters…
— Leo Donofrio, Esq. (@LCDLAW1) December 14, 2022
4/6 MC RECORDER WACK?
Official participation rate in Gen Elec ’22 = .6417% x 503741 Inactive Voters(IV) = 323250. Where are they?
Subtract 496793 – the updated MC IV # today -from 503742 = 6948 IV cured since Nov 8 + 2954 Prov ballots = max potential 9902 IV ballots counted… pic.twitter.com/z63OHtu2E7
— Leo Donofrio, Esq. (@LCDLAW1) December 14, 2022
In his lawsuit, Barnett contends that “the General Election in Maricopa County was rendered incurably uncertain due to official misconduct, and it must be annulled.”
Barnett’s lawsuit said there was an “abnormal increase” in Maricopa County’s inactive voters before the election, saying the total went from 278,570 in the April primary to 503,741 in October, the registration cut-off point for the general election.
“Answers must be forthcoming as to why, in the run-up to the November 8th General Election, the Recorder was so intensely focused on removing registered voters from the Active List, and placing them on the Inactive List,” the lawsuit states.
Barnett said the complex rules for inactive voters to cast a ballot are different from active voters, but that the 2022 training manual for Maricopa County says nothing about what workers should do to help an inactive voter cast a ballot that will count.
Lawsuit filed in Maricopa County reveals “steroid-like injection” of 225,171 “inactive” voters just before Nov. 8 pic.twitter.com/fhH9MKN7oU
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) December 1, 2022
“In light of the official Inactive Voter List having been given a massive steroid-like injection of 225,171 voters just prior to November 8th, it’s only reasonable to consider that poll workers, E-pollbooks, ballots, and printers may have been affected by both — a lack of training thereto — and the complete absence of any guidance whatsoever in the Maricopa Poll Training Manual,” the lawsuit says.
Although Barnett’s lawsuit was dismissed, questions remain about the Arizona election.
On Friday, Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake won a legal victory when the judge overseeing her legal challenge of her loss in November’s election granted her team access to review ballots cast.
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