Secretary of state says there has been a ‘lack of physical security and transparency’ during the Republican-ordered recount by private company
2.29pm BST
The Guardian’s Sam Levine reported last week on the spectacle that is unfolding in Arizona as Maricopa county conducts its election review:
The [Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum] is where the Arizona senate, controlled by Republicans, is performing its own audit of the 2020 election in Maricopa county, home of Phoenix and most of the state’s registered voters.
The effort, which comes after multiple audits affirming the results of the November election in the county in favor or Joe Biden, includes an examination of voting equipment, an authentication of ballot paper, and a hand recount of the nearly 2.1m ballots cast there. Republicans in the state legislature are simultaneously considering measures that would make it harder to vote in Arizona, which Biden carried by about 10,000 votes in November.
Related: Cyber Ninjas, UV lights and far-right funding: inside the strange Arizona 2020 election ‘audit’
2.17pm BST
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
The Arizona secretary of state, Democrat Katie Hobbs, has sent a letter to Maricopa county officials urging them to replace the voting machines involved in the county’s controversial recount of its November election results.
This equipment was accessed by amateur, uncertified “auditors” with zero transparency.
I support election integrity, and therefore can’t support the continued usage of these machines. https://t.co/pwjQjpnkWp