Former President Donald Trump released a statement on Friday claiming there was voter fraud in Pima County’s 2020 election, which county officials have denied.
The claim follows the nearly year-long audit in Maricopa County that found President Joe Biden had won by slightly more votes than previously thought. Trump and Arizona Republicans had said for months that the taxpayer-funded audit would flip the election results in favor of Trump.
Trump’s new statement points to an influx of mail-in votes that gained the lead for Biden in Pima County, which Trump asserts were fraudulent. He’s made similar claims about other states and counties since last November.
Friday’s note also claims that “publicly available data” shows two Pima voting precincts had a ballot return rate greater than 100%, and says that a new election should be called or Trump should be declared the winner in Arizona’s 2020 election.
County officials have outright denied the claims of voter fraud. They point out that both Republicans and Democrats were involved in counting Pima County’s ballots multiple times and the results were certified by officials representing both parties in the state.
“Pima County conducted a free, fair, secure, and accurate election. The results were publicly audited via hand count by the County’s Republican and Democratic parties, and the results were certified by the Pima County Board of Supervisors and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey,” said Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry in a statement about Trump’s claims.
Huckleberry’s statement goes on to cite the extra security measures taken by Pima County during the 2020 election to ensure its integrity.
The election was observed by the Pima County Elections Integrity Commission, a multipartisan group that is tasked with advising election officials on the “conduct and security” of county elections. Huckelberry wrote that Pima may be the only county within Arizona to have such a commission.
“Pima County has a commission that is comprised of members of the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian and Green parties and as a whole has found no reason to question the results of the 2020 Pima County Election,” said Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cazares-Kelly.
The county recorder said her office has not found any instances of deviations from election rules.
Huckelberry also pointed to the County’s Elections Security Plan, which is designed to prevent the kind of election fraud Trump is claiming happened in Pima County.
The plan “safeguards our County elections and includes numerous layered protections that ensure no one could do any of that which is being asserted by a former elected official and his supporters,” Huckelberry wrote in his official statement responding to Trump’s claims.
