pretty good article written by a journo named Jordan Conradson allowed inside the cage to observe, and report on, the audit. It also destroys Katie Hobbs' (far left radical Sec of State of AZ) contention that there is no oversight ability from her office as she has two observers in pink shirts there at any time.
The first thing I noticed was the videographer, who documents and records everything (ex. any issue with ballots upon opening box). I observed teams of three “counters” checking each ballot on a rotating table and adding a timestamp to each tally sheet. I saw that the counting of votes was in good hands and was being performed with speed, accuracy, and honor. It was a smooth process.
After a box of ballots was counted, the ballot box chain of custody is then updated.
Then the ballot is taken to a forensic scanning station to test the weight, texture, ballot watermarks, and vote bubbles. These tests are used to authenticate the ballot. Each ballot is photographed; a forensic scan is taken, ballots are numbered and issues are recorded on the paper examination log. After this process is completed, the chain of custody is updated again and the box is sealed with the tape color of the team who counted. Everything that happens in this room is recorded and documented – Everything!
As an observer, we wore orange shirts to separate us, and we were given very clear and specific instructions. The floor used tape to create lanes for observers to walk in, and we were not to go near the counting tables, nor speak to the counters. We could only speak to other supervisors to report our concerns and other observers. My job was to provide oversight and report anything that I felt compromised the security of the process.
Two observers caught my eye because they were in pink shirts, unlike the rest of us. I asked one of them why that was and he said, “I’m from the Secretary of State’s office.” He declined to talk to me further. Every other time I saw him, he was whispering to his comrade, who was also in a pink shirt. Katie Hobbs has repeatedly called this audit a farce and “The Big Lie”, but her two minions surely see that this audit is in fact not a lie.