Episode Introduction
Merissa Hamilton, a former Phoenix mayoral candidate and conservative activist, joined Breaking Battlegrounds host Sam Stone in spring 2021 for an update from the Arizona Capitol. The top story was the Arizona Senate’s review of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County. Contractors led by Florida-based Cyber Ninjas were hand-counting nearly 2.1 million ballots at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Hamilton and Stone also discussed other work before the Legislature that session.
The episode was recorded while the audit was still underway, months before its findings were released.
Quick Answer
In Breaking Battlegrounds Podcast 18, recorded in spring 2021, Merissa Hamilton joined Sam Stone to discuss the Arizona Legislature’s session and the State Senate’s ongoing audit of Maricopa County’s 2020 election results. The audit’s final report, released September 24, 2021, confirmed Joe Biden’s victory in the county. Its hand count showed Biden gaining 360 votes over the official canvass.
Episode Overview
In 2021, Arizona was at the center of the national debate over the 2020 election. After a court ruled that Maricopa County had to comply with Senate subpoenas, the Senate hired Cyber Ninjas on March 31, 2021, to conduct what Senate President Karen Fann called a “forensic audit.” The count began that April at the state fairgrounds.
Hamilton, who follows legislative activity closely as an activist, gave listeners an update on the audit’s progress and on other issues before lawmakers.
About Merissa Hamilton
Merissa Hamilton is a Phoenix-area conservative activist and former Phoenix mayoral candidate. She has more than 19 years of leadership experience in supply chain, food service, retail, grocery and technology, and has led national committees that developed data standards for food safety. Her volunteer work has focused on helping girls in crisis pregnancies, survivors of domestic violence, and people experiencing homelessness.
More recently, she has served as executive director of the Save Arizona Fund and as co-founder and CEO of EZAZ.org, a platform that tracks government agenda items and encourages public participation in local and state government.
She also appeared on Breaking Battlegrounds to discuss City of Phoenix policy.
Key Topics Discussed
- The Arizona Senate’s audit of Maricopa County’s 2020 election results
- Legislative activity during the 2021 Arizona session
- Election procedures and public confidence in elections
- Merissa Hamilton’s work as a citizen activist
What the Arizona Senate Audit Was
The audit was a review commissioned by Arizona Senate Republicans of Maricopa County’s November 2020 general election. The Senate subpoenaed the county’s ballots and voting equipment, and a judge ruled in February 2021 that the county had to comply.
Cyber Ninjas, the lead contractor, had no prior experience auditing elections. The Senate paid it $150,000 and allowed it to raise outside money for the work. The arrangement split Arizona Republicans. Maricopa County’s Republican-led Board of Supervisors opposed the process and criticized its findings.
How the Audit Ended
The audit’s results came out four months after this episode. Cyber Ninjas presented its final report to the Senate on September 24, 2021. Its hand count found Trump with 261 fewer votes and Biden with 99 more than the county’s official canvass, a net gain of 360 votes for Biden. Biden’s margin in Maricopa County rose to 45,469 votes. The reports contained no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing that could have changed Arizona’s outcome.
Senate President Fann wrote that the ballot count matched the county’s official machine count. Maricopa County Board Chairman Jack Sellers, a Republican, said the report confirmed that the certified candidates had won. The final report also recommended legislative changes to tighten election procedures, and Maricopa County disputed several of its claims about how ballots had been handled.
Key Takeaways From the Conversation
- The episode was recorded while the Senate’s review was underway, before any findings were public.
- The audit was commissioned by the Republican-led Arizona Senate, not by the Legislature as a whole, and it divided Arizona Republicans.
- The final hand count, released in September 2021, confirmed Biden’s win in Maricopa County by a slightly larger margin.
Related Breaking Battlegrounds Episodes
Merissa Hamilton also joined the show to discuss City of Phoenix policy. For a perspective from inside Maricopa County election administration, Recorder Stephen Richer and Andy Gould discussed Arizona’s 2022 primary election. Pollsters George Khalaf and Mike Noble offered their Arizona primary predictions the following year. Candidate conversations from that cycle are collected in the Arizona primary interview series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Merissa Hamilton?
Merissa Hamilton is a Phoenix-area conservative activist and former Phoenix mayoral candidate with a background in supply chain and technology leadership. She has served as executive director of the Save Arizona Fund and co-founded EZAZ.org, a platform that tracks government agendas and encourages civic participation.
What was the Arizona election audit?
The Arizona election audit was a 2021 review of Maricopa County’s 2020 general election, commissioned by Republicans in the Arizona State Senate. Contractors led by Cyber Ninjas hand-counted about 2.1 million ballots and examined voting equipment. Election officials from both parties criticized the process, and the firm had no prior election-audit experience.
What did the Arizona audit find?
The final report, released September 24, 2021, confirmed Joe Biden’s victory in Maricopa County. The hand count found 99 more votes for Biden and 261 fewer for Trump than the official canvass, raising Biden’s county margin to 45,469. The reports showed no evidence of fraud that would have changed the result.
What did Merissa Hamilton discuss on Breaking Battlegrounds?
In Podcast 18, recorded in spring 2021, Hamilton joined Sam Stone for an update on the Arizona Legislature’s session and the State Senate’s ongoing election audit in Maricopa County. The episode was recorded before the audit’s findings were released.
Conclusion
Podcast 18 recorded the Arizona election audit while it was still underway, a period when the review was one of the most closely watched political stories in the country. Merissa Hamilton gave Sam Stone an activist’s view of the audit and the legislative session. The September 2021 final report later confirmed Biden’s win in Maricopa County. Read alongside that outcome, the episode documents how the audit was being discussed in Arizona while it was happening.
Related Reads
- Merissa Hamilton on City of Phoenix Policy
- Andy Gould and Stephen Richer on Arizona’s Primary Election
- Arizona Primary Interviews
Sources
- Arizona Mirror (via Colorado Newsline and Florida Phoenix), “Arizona ‘audit’ finds Biden won (by more votes) and no evidence of fraud” (September 24, 2021)
- KTAR News, “Leaked draft of Maricopa County audit report confirms Biden defeated Trump in 2020 election” (September 2021)
- The Daily Signal, “6 Takeaways From Findings of Arizona Election Audit” (September 24, 2021)
- CNN, via KEYT, coverage of the final Cyber Ninjas report (September 2021)
- Arizona State Senate, final audit report (recommended primary source; link the Senate Republican caucus posting)
- Maricopa County Elections Department, response to the Senate review: https://elections.maricopa.gov (recommended primary source)
Editorial Note: This article is intended for informational and analytical purposes. Political developments, policies, polling, and public statements can change over time. Readers should consult primary sources and official government information for the latest details.
