Former Arizona state Rep. Anthony Kern who was present in Washington D.C. during the deadly January 6 Capitol riot, and was a candidate in last year’s election was spotted counting ballots at the controversial audit ordered by the Senate in Arizona.
Kern was seen in a photo seated at a table at Arizona’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum where an unprecedented audit of the 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County in the November presidential election is being conducted.
The photo was shared to social media by Arizona Republic reporter Ryan Randazzo, who was later escorted from the building and told that his press privileges were revoked.
Organizers argued the photo violated rules on press coverage because a ballot was visible, although nothing on it was legible, Arizona Republic noted.
Kern lost his re-election bid last November and was an active participant in the effort the overturn the results of the election.
He signed a letter with several other Republican legislators in Arizona asking Congress to throw out the state’s electoral college votes and he traveled to Washington, D.C., on January 6 to speak at a rally outside the Capitol.
A photo from that day shows Kern on the steps of the Capitol wearing a coat and tie.
This as the CEO of Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based firm the Arizona Senate hired to oversee the process, told Arizona Republic last week that workers were screened to ensure “there was nothing on their social media or other details that showed strong opinions one way or another.”
Republicans in Arizona have said that the audit of ballots would help them write new election laws and restore trust in the state’s democratic process after Trump lost the state by 10,000 votes last year in the presidential election.
Featured Image: Ryan Randazzo
