Courtney Pedroza for the Washington Post
- An Arizona state senator has described the Maricopa County vote recount as "ridiculous."
- Paul Boyer, a Republican, voted in favor of the recount, but said the reality is an embarrassment.
- Observers say auditors are working in a chaotic way, often driven by conspiracy theories.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A GOP state senator in Arizona described the controversial vote recount in Maricopa County as "ridiculous" and an embarrassment in comments to The New York Times.
Paul Boyer, a Republican who represents a suburb in Phoenix, told the publication that he initially supported and voted for the recount, but regrets doing so after seeing how poorly it is being conducted.
"It makes us look like idiots," Boyer told the publication. "Looking back, I didn't think it would be this ridiculous. It's embarrassing to be a state senator at this point."
The recount was commissioned by the Republican-led state legislature, who say that they are investigating whether the vote was tainted by fraud.
Former President Donald Trump has said that the election was stolen from him last year as a result of mass fraud, a baseless claim which has been rejected in numerous court cases.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden won in Maricopa County and the wider state of Arizona in November 2020, a result which surprised and enraged Republicans who had been banking on Arizona voting for Trump.
The county and state also elected a Democrat, Mark Kelly, to the US Senate.
Last week, observers of the recount appointed by the Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat,said the recount was being conducted in a sloppy and haphazard way.
They noted that there were no clear procedures in place to ensure the integrity of the recount, or note the result of the recount in a secure and accurate way.
They said that those conducting the recount appeared to be seeking to verify conspiracy theories about mass fraud, using UV lights and other unproven technology to do so.
Hobbs has expressed concern that the recount could be used as a template to undermine other legitimate election results. The US Department of Justice has also objected to the execution of the audit.
The process is being conducted by Cyber Ninjas, a firm whose founder has expressed support for Trump's election fraud claims.