A judge on Thursday rejected the Arizona Senate’s motion to dismiss a public records lawsuit relating to its independent full audit of ballots cast in Maricopa County in the 2020 election.

The lawsuit was filed by watchdog group American Oversight and sought records of communications between Senate officials and external vendors working on the audit, including Florida-based cybersecurity firm Cyber Ninjas, a private company hired by the Arizona Senate to oversee the audit of Arizona’s most populous county. It also sought documents related to the cost of the audit, donor information, and its operations.

“It is difficult to conceive of a case with a more compelling public interest demanding public disclosure and public scrutiny,” Judge Michael Kemp of the Arizona Superior Court in Maricopa County wrote in a seven-page ruling (pdf).

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