Arizona Republicans Call On Kelli Ward To Resign

Arizona Republicans are calling on the chairwoman of their party, Dr. Kelli Ward, to step down.

The news comes after the Maricopa County audit this week confirmed Joe Biden’s victory in the state to the satisfaction of moderate Republicans, Democrats and the media.

But Republicans like Kelli Ward and others still believe that the audit showed major issues in the 2020 presidential election.

“She has caused a fracture in our party. She has operated outside of it for the purpose of helping herself,” Supervisor Clint Hickman said in an interview on Friday with KTAR News.

Hickman said that the board has “always tried — this county has always tried to work with the legislative branch and the judicial branch to bring out evidence and fact,” and said that those who supported the audit “decided to act on conjecture, apparently.”

Republican Supervisor Bill Gates = stood with Hickman in calling for Ward to resign.

“I stand w/ my colleague here calling for @kelliwardaz’s resignation,” he said on Twitter. “The @AZGOP’s done nothing but push lies about our electoral system, ignore down ballot races, & lose federal & state elections under her leadership.”

Yahoo News reported:

Auditors hired by the Republican-led state Senate delivered a report of their review to the chamber on Friday, which confirmed President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the county and did not assert that fraudulent ballots were cast.

Senate President Karen Fann, however, referred the report to Brnovich and said “urgent issues” in the report “suggest less-than-perfect adherence to Arizona’s standards and best practices.”

Biden defeated Trump in Arizona by 10,457 votes statewide and by 45,109 votes in Maricopa County in 2020, according to the canvasses following the election.

Ward defended herself and raised more questions about the state’s election when she tweeted “Many questions for Maricopa County as well as exposure of incompetence & possible malfeasance. A FULL SIGNATURE AUDIT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!”

But Arizona Doug Ducey dismissed the idea and, again, sought to move on from the 2020 election.

“It’s no secret that we’ve seen confidence erode in our election system in recent years. It’s not a problem exclusive to Arizona, and it didn’t start in the 2020 election cycle,” he said on Twitter.

“There are some who simply do not trust election results. This is a problem, and it’s one that needs to be addressed. Elections are key to our democracy, and it should be a priority for everyone to listen to these concerns, and work to rebuild the trust of every voter.

“When it comes to the audit, like the three audits that preceded it, it’s now over. The outcome stands and the 2020 election in Arizona is over,” he said.

“Any meaningful policy recommendations identified should be addressed in the next session of the legislature. Any findings of fraud should be referred to the Attorney General and the Department of Justice for them to take action,” the governor said.

“There will be no decertification of the 2020 election —  the audit does not call for one, and even if it had, there is no lawful way to decertify. As we have every step of the way, Arizona will follow the law.

“But there is work to do to strengthen confidence in our elections system. We made some good common-sense reforms this past session, such as making sure our early voter lists are accurate,” Ducey said.

“There are additional reforms we intend to make next year, including raising the threshold for recounts — it’s much lower in Arizona than most other states

“I look forward to working on meaningful election reform next legislative session, which can take effect in time for the 2022 election,” he said.