What the Late-Night Video Appeared to Show
On October 10, The Gateway Pundit reported on video that allegedly showed two election workers entering the Maricopa County Ballot Tabulation Center after hours, with one carrying a toddler. The workers were allegedly seen inserting a device into an adjudication terminal, even though Logic and Accuracy testing had reportedly been completed days earlier. The terminals reportedly had port blockers over their USB ports, intended to prevent foreign devices from being inserted after testing.
According to the reported timeline, the workers left at 6:23 p.m., returned at 9:08 p.m., and remained until 11:15 p.m. One was identified as Brian Ramirez. The report identified him as the same Board of Supervisors employee alleged to have deleted files from the Election Management System in 2020. It also said the workers were hired and supervised by Scott Jarrett and the Board of Supervisors, not the County Recorder’s Office, and that relevant details had been reported to authorities.
What County Officials Say Happened
Maricopa County officials offered a different account on October 14. Board Chair Kate Brophy McGee and Vice Chair Debbie Lesko said the after-hours work was authorized and necessary software work involving the upload of election data to a computer terminal. They said the terminal was air-gapped and that the work did not involve the Election Management System or tabulators. The officials explained that a USB drive was needed to load authorized election files onto the duplication terminal. They also said the process is subject to rigorous audits during and after every election.
Their joint statement warned that casting doubt on the system or misrepresenting election workers erodes public trust. That statement is the county’s official explanation for the device and late-night access described in the video.
Stewart Puts Party Leaders in the Room
Supervisor Mark Stewart responded with a video featuring Eric, identified as chair of the Libertarian Party, and Michelle, whom Stewart described as a friend from the Republican Party. After a tour and discussion about the after-hours access issue, Stewart deferred to them to explain what they learned rather than offering only his own interpretation.
Stewart said the elections team welcomed leadership from all four local political parties into the tabulation center to ask questions and watch a real-time demonstration. He highlighted the questions brought to the meeting, what participants learned from staff, their assessment of the explanations, and any questions that remained unanswered. Stewart said listening, public input, and open dialogue are how government builds public trust.
Runbeck’s Novus System Appears in the Discussion
The discussion also turned to Runbeck’s Novus System, described as ballot duplication software. The available excerpt begins with Eric discussing the election title name Runbeck provided for a file, but it ends before the explanation is complete. No further technical claim can be drawn from the incomplete quotation.
Transparency builds trust.⁰⁰This morning, our Elections team welcomed leadership from all four local political parties into the tabulation center to and ask questions and see a real time demo regarding the after hours access issue.⁰⁰Rather than give you my interpretation, I… https://t.co/LEx3Po2bZe pic.twitter.com/kO4G5KBzTf
— Mark Stewart Maricopa County Supervisor District 1 (@MarkStewart_AZ) October 14, 2026
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