State Attorney General Mark Brnovich is warning his federal counterpart to stay out of the way of the audit of 2020 election returns.
In a letter Monday to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Brnovich said he is displaying “an alarming disdain for state sovereignty’’ by suggesting there may be a need for federal oversight of the state Senate’s audit of Maricopa County’s votes. Brnovich hinted that any intrusion will result in a lawsuit.
“Arizona will not sit back and let the Biden administration abuse its authority, refuse to uphold laws, or attempt to commandeer our state’s sovereignty,’’ wrote Brnovich, who recently announced his bid to become the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.
Garland made a speech Friday suggesting that ballot reviews like the one in Arizona are “based on disinformation.’’ He said his agency is watching — and may take action.
“The Justice Department will do everything in its power to prevent election fraud and to vigorously prosecute it,’’ he said. “But many of the justifications proffered in support of these post-election audits and restrictions on voting have relied on assertions of material vote fraud in the 2020 election that have been refuted by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.”
On May 5, Pamela Karlan, the principal deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights in Garland’s department, asked for answers from Senate President Karen Fann about how the audit is occurring.
Karlan said they are concerned that the nearly 2.1 million ballots are now at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which Karlan describes as an “insecure facility.” Federal law creates a duty to safeguard and preserve records of federal elections, she wrote.
Brnovich told Garland to back off.
“My office is not amused by the DOJ’s posturing and will not tolerate any effort to undermine or interfere with our State Senate’s audit to reassure Arizonans of the accuracy of our elections,’’ he wrote.
“We stand ready to defend federalism and state sovereignty against any partisan attack or federal overreach.’’
Brnovich contends federal intervention or oversight is unnecessary and illegal.
“It is important to remember that the states created the federal government, not the other way around,’’ he told Garland.
Here's a look into Arizona's post-election audit, where workers are using high-res photography to analyze ballots. Video by Rodolfo Romo.
