Audit undermines faith in our elections

With the most recent audit of its election results, it is difficult to tell where the last internal review of ballots in Arizona stops and the latest begins. In the most recent effort reviewing ballots in Maricopa County, workers from Cyber Ninja, a cybersecurity firm, have been given ridiculous tasks by the state of Arizona.

Reports have come out saying auditors are scanning ballots with UV light to uncover watermarks that conspiracy theorists claim the previous president's Department of Homeland Security put on "real ballots."

While these unfounded assertions will undoubtedly continue to inhabit chat rooms in cyberspace, the endorsement and pursuit of these false claims by the Arizona state senate is dangerous. It undermines our faith in a democratic process by blurring the line between fact and fiction.

If elected officials continue to endorse and perpetuate the false narrative this election was stolen, people will start believing our elections contain a certain degree of fraud. While Arizona Senate President Karen Fann claims in recently audited emails that, "Biden won. 45% of all Arizona voters thinks there is a problem with the election system. The audit is to disprove those theories or find ways to improve the system," this audit does not dispel those theories yet amplify them and give them a semblance of credibility.

Americans need to have confidence their votes matter in order to maintain a healthy democracy which is why the Arizona state legislature has an obligation the American public to stop these efforts and publicly reassert the fact this was a free and fair election.

Kevin McCarthy

Winnetka