News Flash

February 23, 2021 (Phoenix) – Maricopa County’s election equipment and software passed all tests performed by two independent firms hired to conduct the forensic audit, according to reports by two federally certified Voting System Testing Laboratories.

View results: Maricopa.gov/ForensicAudit

“Our form of government is built on the promise that every vote counts.  Following the 2020 General Election, some of our residents expressed concerns their ballots were not counted as intended,” said Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Sellers, District 1.  “As a result, the Board of Supervisors asked two firms to independently look at the security and reliability of our election equipment and processes and to let us know if they found any evidence of equipment malfunction or foul play that might have changed the outcome of any race.  The firms we hired are the only two in the United States certified to do this work.  We asked them to go beyond what we had already done to ensure the integrity of our elections and beyond even the stringent requirements of state law.  We are releasing the results of those audits today so that the public can see what we see and know what we know: no hacking or vote switching occurred in the 2020 election.” 

The audits, completed by SLI Compliance and Pro V&V, found that Maricopa County Elections Department’s configuration and setup of the tabulation equipment provided an accurate counting of ballots and reporting of election results.  

The forensic audit adds to the steps already taken by Maricopa County to ensure the accuracy of the federally- and state-certified hardware and software used to count votes. 

“I am committed to doing what I can to ensure voters have the same confidence in our election system that I have,” said Vice Chairman Bill Gates, District 3.  “With the completion of these two independent audits, in addition to the hand count audit completed by the political parties and accuracy tests before and after the election, we have an opportunity as a community to work from a shared set of facts.  Our ability to do that will determine the strength of our republic.  The facts are the voting machines in Maricopa County counted ballots accurately and were not compromised in any way during the November General Election.”  

“It is vital for us to listen to people’s concerns, to take them seriously, and to open ourselves up to closer examination when it comes to something as important as the right to vote.  That’s what these audits were about,” said Supervisor Steve Chucri, District 2.  “I believe it was necessary and right to address the questions that emerged following the 2020 elections, and I’m confident we did that thoroughly and with all Maricopa County voters in mind.”

The auditors completed the following tests and reported no evidence of tampering or hacking of the elections equipment (see detailed information at bottom of release):

• Source Code Tests — Pro V&V and SLI Compliance found that all software and equipment inspected was using certified software and was not modified.
• Malicious Software and Hardware Tests — Pro V&V and SLI Compliance found no instances of malicious software or hardware installed on the tabulators or system.
• Network and Internet Connectivity Tests — Pro V&V and SLI Compliance found no evidence of internet connectivity.
• Accuracy Tests (Only in Pro V&V Scope of Work) — Pro V&V found no evidence of vote switching and concluded that the equipment tabulated ballots accurately.

“The work of these two qualified firms, combined with the work done by our Elections Department, confirms that 2.1 million ballots in the November election were counted as they were cast,” said Supervisor Clint Hickman, District 4.  “Our entire team put so much time and energy into running good elections in 2020.  These audits are an affirmation of everyone’s hard work and prove what my colleagues and I have been saying all along: our elections were run with integrity and the results we canvassed were accurate.”

“The audits clearly dispel the notion that somehow the November election was rigged,” said Supervisor Steve Gallardo, District 5.  “Whether you liked the results or not, the will of the people was represented.  Our equipment worked.  Our people were above reproach.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: 2020 elections in Maricopa County were safe, secure, and accurate.  End of story.”

The Board of Supervisors will review the audits in a special board meeting on Wednesday, February 24 at 1 p.m. Find the audit reports and more information about the election at Maricopa.gov/ForensicAudit. Certified Public Accounting firm, Berry Dunn, is completing the procurement review, and expects to complete the final portion of the audit by the end of March.

Audit Results

1. Source Code Tests — These tests were designed to verify if the same federally and state source code was installed on the equipment. Auditors conducted a full forensic clone of the drive which is a "bit-by-bit” copy. This allowed them to review deleted files, deleted file fragments, and hidden data that may be found in slack and unallocated space Source code extractions tested:

• 20% of Election Day Tabulators (each firm tested 10%) – NO ISSUES
• 100% of Central Count Tabulators – NO ISSUES
• 100% of Election Management System work stations and servers – NO ISSUES
• 40% of Adjudication Stations (each firm tested 20%)  – NO ISSUES

RESULTS: Pro V&V and SLI Compliance found that all software and equipment inspected was using certified software and was not modified.

Malicious Software and Hardware Tests — These tests looked for evidence of equipment tampering or software hacking. Auditors ran tests for viruses, malicious software, and foreign equipment or code that should not be installed on the tabulators or system on the following equipment:

• 20% of Election Day Tabulators (each firm tested 10%) – NO ISSUES
• 100% of Central Count Tabulators – NO ISSUES
• 100% of Election Management System work stations and servers – NO ISSUES
• 40% of Adjudication Stations (each firm tested 20%)   – NO ISSUES

RESULTS: Pro V&V and SLI Compliance found no instances of malicious software or hardware installed on the tabulators or system.

Network and Internet Connectivity Tests — These tests looked for evidence of the tabulations system ability to connect to the internet and if the tabulators and/or system was transmitting information outside the closed air gapped system within the county tabulation center or while being delivered, returned, or used at a vote center. 

• SLI reviewed system registry, system files, installed programs, download history, audit logs, USB/Ethernet history logs. – NO ISSUES
• Pro V&V ran server commands to test for connectivity. – NO ISSUES
• Both firms physically inspected and traced the wiring of the air-gapped system between the server, tabulators, adjudication stations, and Election Management System workstations. – NO ISSUES

RESULTS: Pro V&V and SLI Compliance found no evidence of internet connectivity.

Accuracy Tests (Only in Pro V&V Scope of Work) — These tests checked that the tabulation equipment and software correctly captures, stores, consolidates, and reports the specific ballot selections, and absence of selections, for each ballot position.

• Using test ballots from the November General Election, Pro V&V examined the accuracy of more than 1.5 million ballot positions. – NO ISSUES

RESULTS: Pro V&V found no evidence of vote switching and concluded that the equipment tabulated and adjudicated ballots accurately.