/ Modified oct 12, 2021 5:19 p.m.

Judge to review Arizona audit records for possible release

An Arizona judge has ordered the state Senate to immediately provide text messages and emails related to the Senate Republicans’ partisan review of the 2020 vote count.

Senate election audit The Arizona Senate's contractors count ballots from Maricopa County inside the Veterans Memorial Coliseum during May 2021.
Andrew Oxford/pool photo

An Arizona judge has ordered the state Senate to immediately provide text messages and emails related to the Senate Republicans’ partisan review of the 2020 vote count.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah said Tuesday he will review the records and decide whether they must be given to The Arizona Republic, which has requested them under the state’s public records law.

The Senate’s GOP leaders say the records don’t have to be publicly disclosed because of legislative privilege, which is meant to promote frank and honest debate among lawmakers.

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