Trump and allies have cheered on the effort. Photograph: Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images Marjorie Taylor Greene, the far-right congresswoman in Georgia, has called for a similar audit in her state.Ĭontractors working for Cyber Ninjas, who was hired by the Arizona state senate, examine and recount ballots in Phoenix on 1 May. “They’re writing the playbook here to do this around the country.” Indeed, Trump allies are already pushing for a similar effort in a small town in New Hampshire. “There’s not gonna be a valid result,” said the Arizona secretary of state, Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who is the state’s top election official. More troublingly, they worry the Arizona audit could be a model for Republicans to try elsewhere. The firm’s CEO has voiced support for the idea that the election was stolen from Trump.Įlection experts are watching the unfolding effort with deep alarm, pointing out that officials are not using a reliable methodology – they hesitate to even label it an audit – and will produce a results that will give more fodder for conspiracy theorists. Far-right conspiracy theorists appear to be connected to the effort and the firm hired to lead the charge, a Florida-based company called Cyber Ninjas, has little experience in elections. The review – unprecedented in American politics – may also be one of the clearest manifestations to date of Donald Trump’s false claims of fraud and the conspiracy theories that spread after the election (the former president and allies have loudly cheered on the Arizona effort).