Conflict of Interest – Secretary of State Katie Hobbs Certified Results Despite Active Litigation and Audit Request (AZ)

On November 30, 2020, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs signed the official canvass certifying Arizona’s 2020 general election results alongside Governor Doug Ducey and Attorney General Mark Brnovich — the same day Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward had a pending court action requesting examination of signatures on early ballot envelopes. The certification proceeded despite at least one active legal challenge and despite a formal request from Arizona Senate Republicans for an audit of Maricopa County ballots that would not be commissioned until March 2021. No forensic review of ballot chain-of-custody records had been completed at the time of certification. HCR 2033, introduced the following legislative session, characterized the November 30 certification as having occurred “even while a hearing was underway revealing election discrepancies and fraud” — language that, whatever its legal weight, reflects the contemporaneous legislative record that certification was not preceded by resolution of pending integrity challenges.