Attorney General Mayes Issues Statement on Warren Petersen's Referral to the US Attorney

PHOENIX — Attorney General Mayes today issued the following statement in response to Warren Petersen's referral to the US Attorney:

Despite multiple court challenges, investigations and audits that all showed the 2020 election in Arizona was conducted fairly, transparently and securely, Warren Petersen inexplicably remains an election denier six years later.

After wasting taxpayer dollars on the laughable Cyber Ninja’s audit, Petersen again wasted Arizona's taxpayer dollar on a legal opinion that painstakingly tries to justify his failure to uphold Arizona's constitutional right to protect its voters' privacy. This is yet another example of Petersen desperately seeking favor from a president who cannot accept that he lost his re-election in 2020 fair and square. Arizonans will not be fooled.

Unable to win in court in their efforts to seize the private data of Arizona voters, the Trump administration is attempting an end run around the rulings against them in these cases by weaponizing the federal grand jury process. It won’t work. 

But make no mistake — this is not about 2020. This is about laying the groundwork to deny the results of the 2026 election if they don’t go their way. No matter what Warren Petersen or the Trump administration have to say, I took an oath to uphold our Constitution and defend our elections and I will not be deterred from doing so.