GOP lawmakers continue to use their power to explore conspiracy theories

Arizona lawmakers are considering close to 100 election-related bills in the 2022 legislative session, including many that Democrats say attack the right to vote. But in a state where Republicans hold the governor’s office and majorities in both the House and Senate, stopping those bills is an uphill fight. Photo courtesy Maricopa County Elections Department

Even as court challenges to last year’s election results continue to fail and candidates gear up for another election in Arizona, a Republican-led legislative committee continues to give credence to 2022 election conspiracy theories.

An attempt by that panel, the Arizona House of Representatives’ Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee, to use the state’s public records law to force a private contractor for the Maricopa County Elections Department hit a brick wall on Monday, as Runbeck Election Services said emphatically that it will not provide a lengthy list of documents and video footage requested by the Republicans who control the committee.

In a letter to the committee, Runbeck also rebutted claims raised by the Republicans on the panel — and spread routinely on social media by election deniers and conspiracy theorists — that artificial intelligence was used to verify signatures on Maricopa ballots in the 2022 election, echoing previous statements from county officials.

“We appreciate that this indisputable truth may be politically...

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