Arizona State Representative Anthony Kern is calling for a special legislative session on election integrity, and said that Republicans who are not standing up for President Trump “don’t have a spine.”
National File reported on Friday that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted to reject the subpoenas issued by the Arizona State Senate on Tuesday that would serve to help a forensic audit take place of the Dominion Voting machines, software, and ballots in the county.
Democrat Supervisor Steve Gallardo said the subpoenas were just a “sideshow” created by the legislature, and that he is “not interested in trying to satisfy a small, small group of loud participants at the expense of a certified tabulation system.”
Supv Steve Gallardo (D): "Not interested in trying to satisfy a small, small group of loud participants at the expense of a certified tabulation system. I'm not interested in trying to do a sideshow when it comes to uh, uh, the information to the millions of voters." Disgraceful! pic.twitter.com/JRmoJI7Dlw
— Arizona Republican Party (@AZGOP) December 18, 2020
Speaking exclusively to National File, Arizona State Representative Anthony Kern said that the decision was “garbage”:
I think they’re not doing the right thing. If there are any concerns about any election fraud, they need to do the right thing and open the books, and allow the legislators, of which one I am, to do their job, and bring integrity to these elections… I don’t understand why they wouldn’t want to reach in and show transparency in their election. There is so much angst out there, and people are very upset. Our country is at stake, our state is at stake, and we need to do the right thing and put our political careers aside.
UNACCEPTABLE! Just heard the Maricopa County Supervisors are denying The subpoena from State Legislature to surrender the machines and the Supervisors say they're going to Superior Court! #FIGHTBACK #StopTheSteaI @ali @AZGOP @AZGOP
— Anthony Kern (@anthonykernAZ) December 18, 2020
Kern has been calling for a special legislative session to assess election integrity, and the Maricopa County decision has only strengthened his call to do so. Kerns told National File he hoped Governor Ducey would do “the right thing” and call one. He told National File that Arizona State Senator-elect Kelly Townsend, and State Representatives Mark Finchem and Bob Thorpe were backing his call for a special session, among other Republicans
In a tweet, Townsend said that due to the nature of the subpoenas, in that they are related to a presidential election, only a simple majority of the Legislature should be required to convene a special session of the Arizona House and Senate.
If the Maricopa Board of Supervisors refuses a Legislative subpoena, the Legislature needs to be in session to force compliance. Because this is related to the Presidential election, we should only need a simple majority to convene. #A2S1Pb#StopTheSteaI #StopTheSteaI2020
— Senator-Elect Kelly Townsend (@KellyTownsend11) December 18, 2020
“People are out there saying we just need to move on,” Kerns said, noting the response of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. “Move on from what, a fraudulent election? Come on, man, this is important. We don’t just move on from this.”
Kerns went on to slam those Republicans who were not standing up for President Trump right now. Notably, the five-person Maricopa County Board consisted of one Democrat, but only one Republican voted against their decision on Friday. President Trump is “out there fighting for us as Americans and as Arizonans, and now where are we [Republicans] to help our President?” Kerns asked. “It’s appalling to me that people don’t have a spine.”