Karen Fann

Fann is the second female Senate President in the history of Arizona.{{cite web |title=Senate Member: Karen Fann |url=https://www.azleg.gov/senate-member/?legislature=53&legislator=1774 |website=Arizona State Legislature |access-date=18 May 2021}} She was first elected in November 2016 to represent Legislative District 1, which covers 8,000 square miles throughout Yavapai County and portions of Maricopa County. She previously served this district from 2011 to 2016 as a State Representative. Fann moved to Prescott at the age of four and has been a lifelong Republican. She continues to serve as a precinct committeeman and is a member of the Rotary International and Elks. She currently serves as the vice chair of both the Finance Committee and the Transportation and Technology Committee and as a member of the Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Fann's previous experience includes:

2019–2020 Arizona Senate Chairman, Rules;

2002–2009 Town of Chino Valley Mayor and Councilman;

2007–2009 BQAZ Statewide Transportation Board;

2005–2009 Chairman and Board, Central Yavapai Metropolitan Planning Organization (CYMPO);

2006–2009 Chairman and Board, Upper Verde River Watershed Protection Coalition;

2005–2008 Governors Rural Water Legislative Study Committee;

2002–2007 and 1992–1994 Northern Council of Governments (NACOG);

1992–1995 Prescott City Mayor Pro Tem and Councilman.

{{see also|2020 United States presidential election in Arizona#Audit ordered by Arizona Senate Republicans}}

On December 12, 2020, Gretchen Jacobs, one of Arizona's most powerful and well paid lobbyists, sent a message to White House staffer Stephanie Grisham that she had spoken with Fann and “asked her what would cause her to withhold the electors” needed to certify the results.{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/09/15/scoop-grisham-texts-cast-doubt-on-book-claim-494334 | title=POLITICO Playbook: Scoop: Grisham texts cast doubt on book claim | website=Politico | date=15 September 2021 }} According to Jacobs, Fann told her “if we could prove fraud — that would be a game-changer.” Jacobs then asked Grisham if she could help find $104,000 to hire a political consultant to work on finding evidence of fraud. “I can’t bear that we would lose this over not having $100k to prove what we know is fraud,” Jacobs wrote to Grisham.{{cite web | url=https://azcapitoltimes.com/2016-best-of-the-capitol/ | title=2016 Best of the Capitol | Arizona Capitol Times | date=15 December 2015 }}{{cite web | url=https://azcapitoltimes.com/2014-best-of-the-capitol/ | title=2014 Best of the Capitol | Arizona Capitol Times | date=2 December 2013 }}

Two days later, on December 14, 2020, Jacobs attended the White House Christmas Party with Donald Trump.{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/17/trump-white-house-visitor-logs-jan-6-00077656 | title=Revealed: Who visited the Trump White House before Jan. 6 | website=Politico | date=17 January 2023 }} The following day, on December 15, 2020, Fann she and Senator Eddie Farnsworth were issuing subpoenas for the scanned ballot images and a forensic audit of all voting machines used in the 2020 election.{{cite web | url=https://www.azsenaterepublicans.com/post/statement-from-senate-president-fann-on-subpoenas-issued-to-maricopa-county-board-of-supervisors | title=Statement from Senate President Fann on subpoenas issued to Maricopa County Board of Supervisors | date=15 December 2020 }}

In April 2021, Fann ordered an audit of the election results in Maricopa County, hiring a firm that was founded by a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist who promoted false claims of fraud.Multiple sources:

• {{cite news |date=April 16, 2021 |title=A Cybersecurity Expert Who Promoted Claims of Potential Fraud in the 2020 Election Is Leading the GOP-Backed Recount of Millions of Ballots in Arizona |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/arizona-recount-cyber-ninjas/2021/04/16/b3cbbf08-996e-11eb-962b-78c1d8228819_story.html |first=Rosalind S. |last=Helderman}}
• {{cite web |date=March 31, 2021 |title=Arizona Senate Hires a 'Stop the Steal' Advocate to Lead 2020 Election Audit |url=https://www.azmirror.com/2021/03/31/arizona-senate-hires-a-stop-the-steal-advocate-to-lead-2020-election-audit/ |first1=Jeremy |last1=Duda |first2=Jim |last2=Small |accessdate=April 1, 2021 |work=Arizona Mirror |language=en-US}}
• {{cite web |last=Christie |first=Bob |date=April 1, 2021 |title=CEO of Firm Eyeing Ballots Appeared to Make Political Posts |url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-arizona-elections-phoenix-dcb5478736188723b405a26e5b7031fc |publisher=Associated Press}}
• {{cite web |date=April 9, 2021 |title=Election Auditor Wrote 'Election Fraud Facts' Report for GOP Senators Who Tried to Overturn the 2020 Election |url=https://www.azmirror.com/2021/04/09/arizona-audit-leader-doug-logan-wrote-fraud-claims-on-kraken-lawyers-website/ |first=Jeremy |last=Duda |accessdate=April 16, 2021 |work=Arizona Mirror |language=en-US}}
• {{cite web |first1=Andrew |last1=Oxford |first2=Jen |last2=Fifield |first3=Ryan |last3=Randazzo |title=Founder of Company Hired to Conduct Maricopa County Election Audit Promoted Election Fraud Theories |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/03/31/cyber-ninjas-founder-doug-logan-pushed-election-fraud-theories/4825258001/ |accessdate=April 1, 2021 |work=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US |date=March 31, 2021}}

Under Fann, the Republican-controlled Senate invoked claims of fraud and used its subpoena power to demand the county turn over all its 2.1 million ballots and related presidential election materials to the Senate. In response, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors provided a massive volume of documents to the Senate, but Republican senators persisted in making fraud claims despite those having been rejected by the Arizona Supreme Court and other courts.{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-senate-elections-arizona-phoenix-subpoenas-a125fbb270a39a3ec79be9afa7aee51b |title=Senate Contempt Vote in Election Fight with Board Fails |publisher=Associated Press |date=February 8, 2021 |accessdate=May 19, 2021 |first=Bob |last=Christie}} Multiple previous checks, including tests of ballot tabulating machines and software both before and after the election, as well as a hand count of a ballot sample, all confirmed the county properly administered the election.{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-legislature-arizona-phoenix-elections-603319021466463adaae369b8c8021bc |title=Arizona Democrats Call Recount of Maricopa Ballots 'Charade' |publisher=Associated Press |first=Bob |last=Christie |date=March 22, 2021 |accessdate=May 19, 2021}}{{cite web |title=Five Things to Know about Arizona's Election Audit |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/551012-five-things-to-know-about-arizonas-election-audit |work=The Hill |accessdate=May 10, 2021 |date=May 10, 2021 |first=Max |last=Greenwood}} When it refused, Fann sought a resolution to hold the Maricopa County Board in contempt, which failed when Republican Paul Boyer resisted Fann's pressure to change his vote and joined all Democrats in opposition.

Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, the only Democrat on the five-member county board, expressed concern that the efforts of state senate Republicans to question the election outcome could cause violence. The Arizona Secretary of State, Katie Hobbs, criticized the audit for lax chain of custody procedures, calling it "a significant departure from standard best practices."{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/us/arizona-vote-count-republicans.html |title=Arizona Review of 2020 Vote Is Riddled With Flaws, Says Secretary of State |work=The New York Times |first=Michael |last=Wines |date=May 6, 2021 |accessdate=May 19, 2021}} After her criticism of its procedures resulted in her receiving death threats, the Arizona Department of Public Safety assigned a security detail to guard Hobbs and her staff.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/07/politics/katie-hobbs-arizona-secretary-of-state-death-threats/index.html |title=Arizona Secretary of State Assigned Protection Following Death Threats Amid Election Audit |publisher=CNN |first1=Anna-Maja |last1=Rappard |first2=Paul |last2=LeBlanc |date=May 7, 2021 |accessdate=May 16, 2021}}

Fann made a false allegation, later amplified by Trump in a May 15 post on his blog, that Maricopa County election officials deleted the voter database after the election. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican who oversees elections, tweeted that Trump's post was "unhinged", noting he was looking at the database on his computer at that moment. Richer added, "We can’t indulge these insane lies any longer." The auditors later acknowledged the database had not been deleted.{{cite news|title=Republican Arizona election official says Trump "unhinged"|url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arizona-election-recounts-elections-election-2020-316be3604cae983781e413d41253656d|date=May 16, 2021|first= Bob|last= Christie|work=Associated Press}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/18/politics/arizona-republican-audit-database-not-deleted/index.html|title=Arizona auditors now say voter data is intact, after sparking GOP feud|author=Eric Bradner|website=CNN|date=18 May 2021 }}

A Colorado expert, working for Hobbs' office, cited haphazard procedures and the absence of effective security characterized the audit process.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/13/arizona-audit-recount-votes |title=Why the Arizona 'Recount' of 2.1m Votes Is Dangerous |work=The Guardian |first=Sam |last=Levine |date=May 13, 2021 |accessdate=May 19, 2021}} Despite the resistance and the temporary loss of the arena site it used, Fann said the audit will continue.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/maricopa-county-audit-senate/2021/05/18/b6fab370-b816-11eb-a5fe-bb49dc89a248_story.html |title=Arizona Senate President Says 2020 Recount Would Continue, despite Strident Objections from Maricopa County Officials |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Rosalind S. |last=Helderman |date=May 18, 2021 |accessdate=May 19, 2021}} The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to Fann that expressed concerns that the audit could violate federal laws regarding ballot custody and voter intimidation.{{cite web |url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20698904/doj-letter-to-fann-5-5-21.pdf |title=DOJ letter to Fann |publisher=United States Department of Justice |date=May 19, 2021 |first=Pam |last=Karlan}}{{cite web |date=May 6, 2021 |title=Arizona Republicans Hunt for Bamboo-Laced China Ballots in 2020 'Audit' Effort |url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/06/arizona-republicans-bamboo-ballots-audit-2020 |first=Sam |last=Levine |accessdate=May 7, 2021 |work=The Guardian |language=en}} In response to the DOJ letter and the public backlash, Fann scrapped plans to canvass voters at their home addresses to confirm their voter registration information.{{cite web |url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20700735/fann-response-to-doj-5-7-21.pdf |title=Fann response to DOJ |publisher=United States Department of Justice |date=May 7, 2021 |accessdate=May 19, 2021 |first=Karen |last=Fann}}{{cite web |last=Duda |first=Jeremy |date=May 7, 2021 |title=Fann Tells DOJ She Scrapped Audit Plans to Canvass Voters |url=https://www.azmirror.com/?p=10288 |accessdate=May 19, 2021 |work=Arizona Mirror |language=en-US}} The Maricopa County Board, of which four of five members are Republicans, sharply rebutted Fann's claims in a 12-page letter.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/maricopa-county-officials-letter-to-senate-president/b0f12bf1-4920-402e-8ea2-e49ed21a6b3d/ |title=Maricopa County Officials Letter to Senate President |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 17, 2021 |publisher=Maricopa County Board of Supervisors |accessdate=May 19, 2021}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/maricopa-county-2020-audit/2021/05/17/28292932-b74a-11eb-a6b1-81296da0339b_story.html |title='Our Democracy Is Imperiled': Maricopa County Officials Decry 2020 Recount as a Sham and Call on Arizona Republicans to End the Process |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Rosalind S. |last=Helderman |date=May 17, 2021 |accessdate=May 19, 2021}} The board also urged Fann to close the audit, which she refused.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/maricopa-county-audit-senate/2021/05/18/b6fab370-b816-11eb-a5fe-bb49dc89a248_story.html |first=Rosalind S. |last=Helderman |title=Arizona Senate President Says 2020 Recount Will Proceed, despite Angry Objections from Maricopa County Officials |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 18, 2021 |accessdate=May 19, 2021}}

On May 17, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors held a hearing to dispute her allegations of wrongdoing by county officials. Republican board chairman Jack Sellers stated that the allegations were actually due to the incompetence of the auditors and accused Fann of an "attempt at legitimatizing a grift disguised as an audit."{{Cite web|url=https://www.startribune.com/arizona-republicans-fight-back-against-election-fraud-claims/600058280/|title=Arizona Republicans fight back against election fraud claims|website=Star Tribune}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/us/arizona-audit-trump.html|title=Arizona G.O.P. Is Split on Vote Review: 'We Can't Indulge These Insane Lies'|first=Michael|last=Wines|work=The New York Times |date=May 17, 2021|via=NYTimes.com}} After consulting with the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Election Assistance Commission about the machines used to tabulate the ballots that were turned over in response to the Senate subpoena, Hobbs concluded that the equipment had been compromised and became impossible for the county alone to recertify for future use. While they were in the care and custody of the Senate's contractors, the chain of custody procedures that are required to guarantee their post-audit integrity were not maintained, causing an inability to use them without lessor confirmation that their performance could be recertified. The county spent over $20,000 to lease voting machines in order to conduct two local elections while the contractor possessed those that had been subpoenaed, and the costs of recertifying the surrendered machines upon their return would be in the six-figure range.{{cite web |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/05/20/katie-hobbs-may-not-let-maricopa-co-reuse-voting-machines-after-audit/5185817001/ |title=Arizona Secretary of State May Not Let Maricopa County Reuse Voting Machines after Audit |work=Arizona Republic |first=Jen |last=Fifield |date=May 20, 2021 |accessdate=May 22, 2021}}

As a result of the audit, Maricopa County had to spend nearly $3 million to replace voting equipment because the equipment had been tainted by the company auditing the equipment.{{Cite web|last=Pitzl|first=Lacey Latch and Mary Jo|title=Maricopa County will spend millions to replace voting machines turned over to the Arizona Senate for audit|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/07/14/arizona-audit-maricopa-county-spend-2-8-m-replace-voting-machines/7965882002/|access-date=2021-07-15|website=The Arizona Republic|language=en-US}}

A preliminary report on the results of the audit, despite the expenditure of some six million dollars raised from Trump supporters determined to overturn the election, found no evidence of fraud.{{Cite news |last=Helderman |first=Rosalind S. |date=2021-09-25 |title=Arizona ballot review commissioned by Republicans reaffirms Biden's victory |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/arizona-ballot-review-draft-report/2021/09/24/7c19ac08-1562-11ec-b976-f4a43b740aeb_story.html |access-date=2023-07-17 |issn=0190-8286}}

Fann received an FBI subpoena in June 2022 relating to an investigation into Trump's efforts to pressure state officials after the election. The Director of Communications for Arizona Senate Republicans characterized the subpoena as "part of the Biden Administration's political theatrics as they look into 'January 6'."{{cite news |last1=MacDonald-Evoy |first1=Jerod |title=The FBI subpoenaed Karen Fann and Kelly Townsend for information on the January 6 insurrection |url=https://www.azmirror.com/2022/06/30/the-fbi-subpoenaed-karen-fann-and-kelly-townsend-for-information-on-the-january-6-insurrection/ |work=Arizona Mirror |date=June 30, 2022}}

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Category:1954 births

Category:21st-century American women politicians

Category:Arizona city council members

Category:Republican Party Arizona state senators

Category:Living people

Category:Mayors of places in Arizona

Category:Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives

Category:Politicians from Prescott, Arizona

Category:Women city councillors in Arizona

Category:Women mayors of places in Arizona

Category:Women state legislators in Arizona

Category:21st-century members of the Arizona State Legislature