“Your machine is not certified and cannot be used,” claimed Michael Schafer, who runs a product testing company based in Metro Phoenix. “Conventionally he must use his count 100% hand.”

Local resident Jerry Navarro agreed with these concerns.

“Are they certified?” he said of the tally machine.

They are, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Committee and the Office of the Secretary of State.

“The basis of this conspiracy is a misunderstanding of the federal laboratory’s exam accreditation process,” Sophia Solis, spokesperson for the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, said in a statement to NI.

Arizona counties are already conducting limited post-election handcounts. But election experts warn that a complete hand count, done by a human rather than a computer, could be inaccurate.

Handcount pushes have recently gained momentum in parts of the state as some residents, candidates and legislators allege election anxiety and fraud. Despite multiple county lawsuits and months of audits, no evidence of widespread election fraud has been found in Arizona.

Late last month, the board of supervisors in neighboring Cochise County approved a full ballot count despite warnings from the secretary of state and county attorneys. Soon after, the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans filed a civil suit, accusing the decision of being unlawful.

Some of the people who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting in Nogales were locals, while others traveled to the county to discuss the election.

“We come to every county and we speak in every county,” said Gisela Aaron, a Tucson resident who also advocated handcounting in Cochise County.

District 3 supervisor Bruce Blacker was the only county official to publicly address election-related complaints when the public outreach ended Tuesday.

“These claims have been raised in court 60 times. They have never been proven,” he said. “So I am discouraged that people continue to push these baseless theories. And endanger our country, endanger our republic.”

Santa Cruz County currently uses three ballot counting machines. Two ES&S DS450 tabulators. ES&S D200 is used as a backup.

The county’s election software is already certified by the Election Assistance Commission, the federal department responsible for approving such devices. The EAC website classifies the software as a certified voting system.

Also, the machine must be tested by a federally accredited laboratory.

Some of those speaking at Tuesday’s conference argued that the two laboratories used for the Arizona machine – SLI Compliance and Pro V&V – were not properly accredited. However, the EAC listed both laboratories as accredited and issued a letter certifying accreditation.

“All voting systems in use in Arizona’s 2022 election meet these requirements,” said Solis, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State.

In addition, Santa Cruz County’s three tally machines passed logic and accuracy tests conducted by state officials last month.

On October 10, a team from the Office of the Secretary of State measured the accuracy of nearly 450 ballots on county tally machines. Officials also submitted old, overvoted ballots to test whether the machine could detect the error.

Frances Grad, who heads the county’s Democratic Party, has observed the test for herself. Seeing the tallying process put her at ease, she said.

“It was explained to me in every way,” she said. “Now they’re doing this. Now they’re doing that. This is why.”

No Santa Cruz County Republican party member participated in the logic and accuracy test. But Steve McEwen, the chairman of the local Republican Party, said there was no point in witnessing the tally run, adding that the scope was “not wide enough.”

“I think it’s a dog and pony show,” he said. “And I’ve been busy.”

But after Tuesday’s supervisors meeting, McEwen made it clear that he has faith in the county’s elections department and staff.

“I think our election department is doing a tough job,” he added.

McEwen added that his bigger concern is with voter rolls, the list of registered voters maintained by the county registrar’s office.

“That’s a problem. I don’t know how else to say it,” said McEwen, adding that he hopes there will be more transparency from the office.

Data provided by the county registrar’s office late last month showed a decline in the number of active registered voters in Santa Cruz County between July and October. During that period, this category fell from his 30,005 active registered voters to his 29,189.

The County Records Office also tracks inactive voters (residents who are technically still registered to vote after two bounced election-related emails).

Between July and November 2nd, the number of inactive voters increased from 1,788 to 3,034.

In May, Sainz said her office sent out a mass email to all registered voters in light of the primary election.

“That’s where the process starts,” she said, checking to see if the email came back.

The same email must be returned a second time for the voter to be considered inactive.

Sainz added that there were other reasons for the fluctuation in numbers. For example, many residents of Sonoita and Elgin used highway contract route addresses, but recently changed their address format, she said.

Elsewhere in the state, stories of election fraud allegations and voter intimidation in the name of fighting fraud are more prominent.

For example, on October 21, two armed men in tactical gear appeared on the scene at a ballot drop-box in Mesa, prompting a response from the sheriff’s office. Maricopa County Commissioner Bill Gates (a Republican) and Recorder Stephen Richer publicly condemned the act, calling it voter intimidation.

Speaking to the NI on Tuesday, local Democrat Grad said he had never witnessed that level of intimidation in Santa Cruz County. He added that he was more concerned about related misinformation.

McEwen pointed out that local Republicans trained observers to avoid voter intimidation tactics being documented in Maricopa County.

“There are a lot of people out there who are just there,” he said. “Shame. That’s all I can say. Shame.”