First day of Arizona Senate election audit nearly stopped before it began. Here's what happened Andrew Oxford, Arizona Republic The first day of an unprecedented recount of every ballot cast by Maricopa County voters during last year's general election almost did not happen Friday. A court battle nearly stopped it. And, as the recount was starting, officials seemed to be figuring out rules and training on the fly. Later, the daily press briefings that were promised were placed on an indefinite hiatus. What was clear is that the 2.1 million ballots the Republican-controlled state Senate obtained through a subpoena are now fully in the custody of a Florida-based company called Cyber Ninjas. Rows of pallets piled high with boxes were surrounded by a fence on the floor of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.