Late night video of Maricopa County election workers reported to FBI, county recorder says

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap says his office referred video of election workers at the county’s secured tabulation center to the FBI and county attorney for review, while county supervisors say the employees were performing authorized election-related duties.

The backstory:

The video and photos, showing workers inside the facility late at night on Oct. 7, sparked questions and speculation on social media about what employees were doing there.

"There was no incident, it was simply people working late at night," said Kate Brophy McGee, chairwoman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

Heap said his office received the video from a citizen and forwarded it to law enforcement before it circulated on social media.

"If you see, you know, questionable things happening in a secured facility after it's been locked down and after Logic and Accuracy testing, it's appropriate that we hand those over," Heap said. "And we did. We did what we're required to do."

In a joint statement, Brophy Mcgee and Vice-Chair Debbie Lesko said the workers were setting up software used in the ballot duplication process on computers isolated from the internet.

They added that the Election Management System and machines used to count votes were not involved.

This week, the county invited local political party representatives to watch a live demonstration of the software updates.

Dig deeper:

Brophy McGee said the room is livestreamed 24 hours a day and argued Heap should have contacted county officials before referring the video to law enforcement.

"Pick up the phone and call your contacts at elections, who you talk to multiple times a day, and say, ‘What are your people doing over there?’ But they never did. They just sent it straight to the FBI," Brophy McGee said.

Heap denied alleging wrongdoing but criticized county leaders for taking too long to explain the activity publicly.

"If you wait long enough, by the time you actually start putting out facts, people now don't have confidence that they're being told the whole truth," Heap said. "And so I would have liked to have seen them do a much better job of informing the public up front when issues arise?"

He said it was disappointing that officials were pointing to his office for reporting the video to law enforcement.

Brophy McGee said, to her understanding, the FBI and county attorney closed their cases without finding wrongdoing. She also expressed concern about the impact of online speculation on election workers.

"I think the most disturbing, troubling, angering thing for me is that our employees were put at risk. Effectively they were doxed," she said.

What's next:

With early voting underway and less than three weeks until Election Day, Brophy McGee said the county remains focused on ensuring voters can cast their ballots confidently.

"We expect a robust and busy competitive election, and we want our voters to know that our continued focus is that they’re able to vote confidently," she said.