As the “audit” of votes cast in Arizona for the 2020 election continues to drag on for a seventh week, many Republicans in the state say they’re sick and tired of the process and want it to end as soon as possible, according to the New York Times.

Many GOP voters have been skeptical of the prolonged recount and audit being conducted by questionable firms hired by the state, and they’re now speaking out and letting those in charge of the seemingly endless process that is bringing negative attention to the Grand Canyon State:

“The review of 2.1 million votes in Arizona’s most populous county has ballooned not just into a national political spectacle, but also a political wind sock for the Republican Party — an early test of how its renewed subservience to Mr. Trump would play with voters.

“The returns to date are not encouraging for the party. A late-May poll of 400 Arizonans by the respected consulting firm HighGround Inc. found that more than 55 percent of respondents opposed the recount, most of them strongly. Fewer than 41 percent approved of it. By about 45 to 33 percent, respondents said they were less likely — much less, most said — to vote for a Republican candidate who supported the review.”

One of those who is sick and tired of the audit is Rob Goins, a retired Marine and lifelong Republican who told the Times:

“There’s a lot of folks out there trying to make something out of nothing. I don’t think there was any fraud. My opinion of this is that it’s a big lie.”

Jim Kolbe, a Republican congressman from 1985 to 2003, said he believes each day the audit continues, it harms the state’s reputation:

“If they were voting on it again today, they would have withheld doing this, because it’s been nothing but a headache. It’s a black mark on Arizona’s reputation.”

Some longtime Arizona Republicans are so disgusted by the hold Trump has on the GOP that they’ve become Democrats.

Dan Harlan, a defense-industry employee, said the real motive for the Arizona GOP couldn’t be any clearer: Power and making sure they win elections no matter what the voters say:

“It’s a threat to our democracy. I think there’s no doubt about that. This audit is being conducted because the Republican Party refuses to look at long-term demographics and realize they can no longer be the party of the white male. And they’re doing everything they can to maintain power.

“It’s not about democracy; it’s about winning. And when any organization becomes more concerned with maintaining itself, losing its core values is no longer important.”

Democracy be damned, according to those who support the audit. But would they be so supportive if the shoe was on the other foot and Democrats were the ones demanding endless recounts and audits?

Featured Image Via NBC News