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Fact check: Arizona Senate, Maricopa County negotiating deal on election data

The claim: Arizona Senate released evidence of voter fraud the day of President Joe Biden’s swearing-in

Conservative Facebook pages have started sharing an online article that falsely claims Arizona government officials released evidence of voter fraud an hour after President Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

“You can’t make up this level of corruption anymore America, ... Arizona has released evidence from their state Senate on voter fraud,” the article states.

The article, published by The DC Patriot, states the Arizona Senate reached an agreement with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to turn over election information that would allow officials to perform an audit.

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Since Biden won Arizona in November, the battleground state has been mired in voter fraud allegations. Election officials have said the election was conducted fairly, and there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

USA TODAY has reached out to The DC Patriot for comment.

No evidence of voter fraud

On Jan. 20, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors agreed to negotiate with the Arizona Senate on a deal to release data from November’s election to avoid further court hearings, according to the Associated Press. However, the Senate did not release any evidence of voter fraud.

“The parties are working toward an agreement which delivers some of the requested documents and information while protecting voter privacy and the integrity of election equipment,” board Chairman Jack Sellers said in a statement on Jan. 20.

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The potential agreement seeks to end a legal dispute that has lasted for more than a month, according to the Arizona Republic, which is part of the USA TODAY Network. The Senate issued subpoenas to the supervisors "after repeatedly calling on them to complete an additional independent audit of general election results, even though the routine audit the county conducted went flawlessly and challenges to the outcome alleging irregularities and fraud failed in court," the Republic reported.

State Senate President Karen Fann listens during Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's State of the State address at the Arizona State Capitol on Jan. 13, 2020.
State Senate President Karen Fann listens during Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's State of the State address at the Arizona State Capitol on Jan. 13, 2020.

Maricopa County Communications Director Fields Moseley said no agreement has been finalized yet.

“The chairman authorized the attorneys to negotiate and once there is a final plan, the Board will consider it. The County considers these negotiations to be ongoing,” Moseley said in a statement to USA TODAY.

“There is no evidence of fraud and the County has prevailed in every court case that asserted otherwise,” Moseley added.

But Arizona Senate President Karen Fann claimed victory on Jan. 20, stating that the Senate and the board had reached an agreement.

“Not only has the Board agreed to turn over all the relevant information we sought in our subpoenas so that we may perform an audit, but they also acknowledge that the Legislature is a sovereign power of the state and that the county is a political subdivision, and as such, the Legislature has the constitutional and statutory authority to issue subpoenas,” the Republican state senator said in a statement.

Although Fann claimed the supervisors agreed to overturn election information, she said the lawmakers are not alleging fraud.

“We have said from Day One, we are not alleging fraud, we are not alleging anything,” Fann told the Associated Press. “What we are saying there are a lot of questions.”

Fann did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

Trump and his supporters have repeatedly alleged that Biden unfairly won the 2020 election, but these claims are baseless. USA TODAY has debunked several allegations of voter fraud in Arizona, including claims that more than 2,000 people used the same address to register to vote and ballots in Phoenix marked with Sharpies were disqualified.

More: Fact check: False claim of fraud in Arizona voter registrations

Our rating: False

The claim that the Arizona Senate released evidence of voter fraud the day of President Joe Biden’s inauguration is FALSE, based on our research. The Arizona Senate and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors are working on an agreement to release data from November’s election so that the Senate can perform an audit.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Arizona Senate, Maricopa County in talks on election data