Ballots are pulled aside for a hand audit by Maricopa County Elections Department staff ahead of Tuesdays election on October 31, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. Early voting lasted from October 7th through the 30th in Arizona, which had a record number of early voters. || Photo by Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images
Robert Anglen
Arizona Republic
A judge rejected efforts by the contractor who led the “audit” of 2020 election results in Arizona to restrict the release of public records related to the effort.
More than a year after Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan was ordered to make public every text and email, lawyers for the defunct cybersecurity firm asked the court to keep secret records dated after June 2, 2021.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Bradley Astrowsky on Thursday said no.
“There were already rulings on this issue concerning the scope of the records on which the Cyber Ninjas and the Logans need to respond,” he said. “I’m not going to reinvent the wheel, and I see no good cause to reconsider those rulings made by other judicial officers in this case.”
Astrowsky said he is still weighing if Logan can withhold thousands of messages related to the audit that he claims are privileged and exempt from public view. He asked lawyers on both sides to file motions.
The ruling came at the start of a hearing over the Arizona Senate’s decision to withhold about 1,000 records that it, too, claims are protected from disclosure. The judge said he would make a ruling expected to be made public early next week.
Public records lawsuits against Cyber Ninjas and the Senate by The Arizona Republic in 2021 have forced the disclosure of thousands of records, including text messages sent and received by Logan.
Earlier ruling:State Senate can keep some election ‘audit’ docs secret, Arizona Supreme Court says
