Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs on Monday filed a lawsuit Force Cochise County officials to approve the results of this month’s election because Republicans on the Board of Supervisors missed the poll deadline for the election.
The board’s refusal to recognize the election results stems from its stubborn allegation that the electronic tabulators the county uses are not certified under state and federal law. Not only is that wrong, but state and federal election officials are doing their best to make sure Republican county superintendents Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd know the machines are properly certified. .
State law states that county officials “must” hold elections within 20 days. Hobbes said in the lawsuit that the board was acting unlawfully “on the basis of a patently false allegation” regarding the “insignificant” machine.
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And if the courts don’t step in and force the county to prove its election, Hobbes will have no choice other than excluding Cochise County’s vote from the statewide canvas scheduled for Dec. 5 at the Phoenix Capitol. No choice. Under state law, statewide certification of elections must occur by December 8 at the latest.
If that happens, it will almost certainly change the outcome of some races. Ciscomani, who had won the elections for state superintendent and legislature, respectively, was defeated.
“The commission’s unprecedented inaction should not disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters in Cochise County,” Hobbes’ attorney Andy Gaona wrote in the lawsuit. “Therefore, the Secretary is taking this action to ensure that these voters’ voices are heard and their votes are counted.”
If so, it would “irreparably harm” all Arizona citizens, not just voters whose votes are ignored.
“In the current situation, this will instill further confusion and doubt in our electoral system,” Gaona wrote.
Cochise County officials were initially reluctant to look into the election results when the board held a special meeting on Nov. 18 to discuss legal obligations to approve the election. During the conference, members of the public, including “various conspiracy theorists” with a track record of “fake lawsuits” trying to overturn the election, were used to testify and tally votes, according to the Hobbes lawsuit. I misrepresented the machine to my supervisor. Did not authenticate properly.
But the supervisor also heard from county elections officer Lisa Mara and state elections officer Cori Rorick. was pure fictionOn Nov. 21, Lorick sent a letter to the board warning supervisors of legal action if they didn’t investigate the election by Monday’s deadline.
In that letter, Rorrick also reiterated that the machines in use in all Arizona counties, including Cochise, are properly certified by state and federal governments. Letter from the Election Assistance Committeethe federal agency that certifies all election equipment used in the United States, ensures that machines used in Cochise County are properly certified and certified.
However, the board elected to ignore the warning at its November 28 meeting and voted 2 to 1 to submit the election canvas until December 2. canvas.
judd last week told VoteBeat She said she had trouble trusting “any computer.”
“I don’t even trust my cell phone. It’s a flip phone and I don’t trust it. It doesn’t always get me results. So it’s hard,” she said. said.
Alex Gulotta, state director of All Voting is Local Arizona, said Cochise County is undermining democracy by refusing to recognize election results.
“It’s amazing that Cochise County officials weren’t able to prove the election results,” Grotta said. “The refusal to prove results is more to those who seek to sow distrust in our electoral process than to protect our democracy and ensure that every vote is counted. It is directly related.”
Mr. Hobbes’ lawsuit is not the only lawsuit seeking to force the Cochise County Board of Supervisors to hold its elections.Earlier in the day, retired American Arizona Alliance and Cochise County voters filed a lawsuit He made many of the same arguments that Hobbes and the Office of the Secretary of State had.
