/ Modified may 21, 2021 9:05 a.m.

Arizona election chief: GOP-audited machines must be dropped

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs says Maricopa County lost control of the machines after they were handed over and doesn’t know what was done to them.

360 early voters pima county Voters wait to enter an early voting site at the Pima County Recorder's Office in downtown Tucson on Oct. 27, 2020.
Martín Rubio/AZPM Staff

Arizona’s top elections official says voting machines from the state's most populous county should not be used after they were handed over to state Senate Republicans for an audit of the 2020 election results.

Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said in a letter that Maricopa County lost control of the machines after they were handed over and doesn’t know what was done to them. She urged the county not to use the machines any longer and threatened to initiate a process that could lead to their decertification.

County officials say they're evaluating their next steps but will not use any machines that could pose a risk to free and fair elections.

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