Paper changes caused Maricopa County printer failure: report

PHOENIX (AP) — Problems with ballot printers that caused lines to back up at some Phoenix-area polling places last year were not caused by malicious actions but by changes to the paper, a retired Arizona Supreme Court justice concluded in a report released Monday.

County officials used longer ballots on thicker paper than had been used previously, changes that were made in part to respond to unfounded conspiracy theories but which pushed the printers to the edge of their capabilities, former Justice Ruth McGregor wrote.

She added that preelection testing may not have caught the problem because the test didn't properly mimic the stresses that printers experience on Election Day.

“Nothing we learned in our interviews or document reviews gave any clear indication that the problems should have been anticipated,” McGregor wrote.

McGregor’s findings show the challenges confronting election officials as they respond to concerns spread by election deniers with changes that carry their own unforeseen consequences that raise further doubts among voters primed to be skeptical of election procedures.

Clint Hickman, the Republican chairman of the county board of supervisors, said the board will “make changes to best serve voters, starting with replacing some equipment.”

Republican Kari Lake, who lost the race for governor, along with the GOP candidates for attorney general and secretary of state have pointed to the printer issues as a reason for their losses. Lake's campaign Twitter account called the report a “farce."

McGregor's team printed and counted 9,100 ballots, concluding the issue could be traced to a part known as the fuser on Oki B432 printers, one of two models used at vote centers.

For some printers, the fuser failed to consistently maintain the proper temperature to...