The Charlie Kirk Show

Episode: FLASH UPDATE: Arizona Election Audit with Tyler Bowyer

Date: May 7, 2021
Host: Andrew Colvett (filling in for Charlie Kirk)
Guest: Tyler Bowyer, COO of Turning Point USA

Overview

In this episode, producer Andrew Colvett steps in for Charlie Kirk to deliver a focused update on the ongoing Arizona election audit, specifically in Maricopa County. The guest, Tyler Bowyer—Chief Operating Officer of Turning Point USA and an active figure in Arizona politics—joins Andrew to address rumors, controversy, and procedural details about the audit. The conversation aims to cut through media narratives and political rhetoric, providing listeners a "grassroots" conservative perspective on the audit's purpose, process, and the latest developments.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Media Narratives and “The Bamboo Conspiracy”

• Segment Start: 02:48
• Andrew opens by referencing a New York Times article that criticizes the Arizona audit and brings up the so-called "bamboo conspiracy."
  • Notable Quote:

    "They're looking for things outside of...I think bamboo, like they're calling it the bamboo conspiracy because...there was a suggestion that ballots were flown in from, from overseas."
    – Tyler Bowyer [05:46]

• Tyler explains that while the media fixates on fringe theories or attempts to smear audit advocates, the actual process focuses on legitimate hand counting, verifying ballots, and procedural integrity.
  • Notable Quote:

    "They would love for you to believe that this is some weirdo...That's not what's happening."
    – Tyler Bowyer [06:09]

2. Audit Procedures and Transparency

• Segment Start: 03:47

• The audit is being conducted at the old Coliseum in Phoenix using procedures largely covered by existing Arizona election law, with an expanded hand-count for transparency.

  • The process involves matching physical ballots to digital records, seeking irregularities or tampering, and is handled in a highly-observable environment.
  • Notable Quote:

    "Most of the time that's being spent right now is verifying the votes in a hand count procedure that's outlined in the elections procedures manual."
    – Tyler Bowyer [05:37]

• Transparency Emphasized:

  • Assertion that media claims of secrecy or irregularity lack substance because the process is highly visible, live-streamed, and guarded.

    "There’s cameras on this place 24/7. There are security guards everywhere. They’re even monitoring. So, I want to literally have a live feed going."
    – Andrew Colvett [08:20]

3. Federal Involvement and Legal Tension

• Segment Start: 06:34
• Discussion about the Department of Justice (DOJ) showing interest in the audit, with local Republicans and audit leaders asserting the federal government lacks oversight authority in this state-run process.
  • Tyler asserts that Democratic claims of rights violations are unsubstantiated and that state law allows for appropriate observation.
  • Notable Quote:

    "The DOJ really has no oversight authority or right to come in and say or do anything. Right...There are no rights being violated."
    – Tyler Bowyer [07:26]

• A judge recently ruled that no significant procedural changes have occurred—contrary to media narratives.

4. Dominion Voting Systems & Password Access

• Segment Start: 08:46
• Rumors circulate about missing administrative passwords for Dominion voting machines, possibly limiting full access for auditors.
  • Tyler clarifies the seriousness of relying on a third party (the voting machine vendor) for access to critical election infrastructure.
  • Notable Quote:

    "If you're relying on a third party to have any access to the voter data in any way, shape or form...that's risky...That's a risky proposition."
    – Tyler Bowyer [10:21]

  • Suggests that just discovering this issue justifies the audit:

    "That alone makes the audit worth it, just finding that information out."
    – Tyler Bowyer [11:06]

5. The Audit’s Scope: Fact-Finding, Not Overturning the Election

• Segment Start: 11:07
• Andrew and Tyler reiterate that the audit is not about changing 2020 election results but about transparency and reassuring the public.

  "This is a fact-finding mission to see. Hey, there was a lot, a lot of noise made about the election in 2020, President Trump, et cetera, what really happened."
  – Andrew Colvett [11:07]

6. Signature Verification Controversy

• Segment Start: 12:25
• Discussion of Democratic efforts to halt signature verification and ensuing legal challenges.
  • Tyler clarifies that signature verification has largely been completed for the relevant sample, and that much of the legal wrangling centers around observation rights, not audit substance.
  • Notable Quotes:

    "The headline that came out was that...the Democrat Party had halted all signature verification in the process."
    – Tyler Bowyer [13:03] "My understanding is what they wanted and needed to do on the signature side of ensuring that that had been done, largely had been done."
    – Tyler Bowyer [16:28]

• Arizona’s vote-by-mail system is described as relatively permissive—with a permanent early voting list and concerns about ballot distribution errors.

7. Final Thoughts: Next Steps and Moving Forward

• Segment Start: 16:53
• Tyler emphasizes that matching physical ballots to voter data remains the audit’s crucial objective. Other controversies are “distractions.”
  • Notable Quote:

    "What we need is to move forward, verify the actual physical ballots to the data. That's the baseline work. All this other talk that's surrounding this is distraction from that..."
    – Tyler Bowyer [16:53]

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On Media Discrediting:

  "It's silly to me that the New York Times isn't focusing on what the actual [audit is doing]."
  – Tyler Bowyer [06:31]

• On Security and Observation:

  "It's so boring that nobody wants to cover it because it's literally just following a hand count procedure..."
  – Tyler Bowyer [08:36]

• On Audit Justification:

  "That alone makes the audit worth it, just finding that information out."
  – Tyler Bowyer [11:06]

Notable Timestamps

• 02:48 – Introduction to the audit segment & media coverage ("bamboo conspiracy")
• 03:47 – Audit procedure details; hand count and process description
• 05:46 – Discussion of the “bamboo conspiracy” and its representation in the media
• 06:34 – DOJ involvement and legal challenges
• 08:46 – Issues and questions about Dominion voting systems and password access
• 12:25 – Signature verification controversy and legal wrangling
• 16:53 – Audit’s groundwork and next steps for election integrity

Conclusion

Andrew Colvett and Tyler Bowyer deliver a conservative insider's view of the Arizona audit, contesting prevailing media narratives and emphasizing transparency and procedural legitimacy. Despite ongoing legal battles and heightened political rhetoric—around both the audit’s purpose and methods—Bowyer insists the process is factual, measured, and worthwhile for public trust in election results. The audit's findings, particularly concerning vendor access to systems and the matching of ballots to data, are presented not as partisan tools but as necessary steps in restoring electoral integrity.