Sen. Paul Boyer /Capitol Media Services file photo by Howard Fischer
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
A bid by Senate Republicans to hold Maricopa County supervisors in contempt faltered today as one GOP lawmaker balked.
Sen. Paul Boyer of Phoenix said he believes the Senate does have the power to use its subpoena power to demand access to the voting machines and ballots from the last election. But Boyer said he believes that power should be used “sparingly.”
More to the point, Boyer said he believes the county is willing to conduct an additional audit of the results of the Nov. 3 election.
What’s needed, he said, is a judge to issue an order clearing the way for that rather than a contempt citation. And he said that’s what’s needed to resolve the issue.
That drew derision from Sen. Warren Petersen, R-Phoenix, who walked colleagues through a timeline of what he said has been an ever-changing stance by the supervisors over whether there would or would not be an audit, who has access to the ballots and even some apparently conflicting arguments about whether courts have authority over the enforcement of legislative subpoenas.
