It’s very possible that Fann simply told Gates that she didn’t think fraud had occurred because she wanted to grease the wheels of Maricopa’s participation in the effort. But it’s more likely that Fann, a member of Arizona’s legislature for more than a decade, actually recognized that nothing untoward happened. After all, Arizona had been trending more blue since 2004, in part thanks to its evolving demographics. That the result in 2020 was close was a continuation of that trend; in fact, the shift to the left from 2016 to 2020 was smaller than the shift from 2012 to 2016. Fann herself was elected in a district that includes parts of Maricopa.

Source: Washington Post August 03, 2021 21:00 UTC