In February 2023, the Arizona Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Audit-USA v. Maricopa County, 525 P.3d 279 (Ariz. App. 2023) [CA-CV 22-0254], addressing the fundamentals of Arizona’s public records laws.BackgroundIn February 2021, Audit-USA made a public records request to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for digital images and associated data of ballots cast in the November 2020 election. Maricopa County did not respond to the request, so Audit-USA filed suit under A.R.S. § 39-121.02, which governs recourse when a public body denies access to public records.Maricopa County provided Audit-USAwith a copy of some of the requested data, but withheld the digital images of the cast ballots. Maricopa County subsequently filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that A.R.S. § 16-625 expressly prohibits the circulation of digital images of ballots.Ultimately, the trial court granted the dismissal, and the Court of Appeals upheld it. Key Takeaways1.The Court of Appeals found that it did not need to reach the question of whether public records law applies because the statutes pertaining to the protection of ballots prevented the requested disclosure.A.R.S. § 16-624 requires paper ballots to remain “unopened and unaltered” at a “secure facility” for 24 months following the close of an election. A.R.S. § 16-625 requires electronic data and digital images of ballots to be protected from both “physical and electronic access,” with security measures equal to or greater than those