Dominion iButtons – Hardware Authentication Tokens Retained Exclusively by Vendor, Never Transferred to County (AZ)

Maricopa County did not possess the administrative iButtons – hardware authentication tokens required to configure, validate, and independently access the Dominion tabulation systems it deployed in the 2020 election. These tokens were retained exclusively by Dominion Voting Systems throughout the election cycle. As a consequence, Maricopa County election officials had no independent ability to configure, validate, or verify the operational status of the voting systems they were legally responsible for administering. The Cyber Ninjas audit team confirmed: “Maricopa County does not control the administrative iButtons.” When investigators attempted to obtain technical explanation from Dominion, the vendor refused – acting under direction from the County. A private company retaining exclusive hardware authentication authority over critical government election infrastructure is constitutionally and legally incompatible with the principle that elections are a governmental function.