During the battle over the hand-counting of ballots and denial of election results last fall in Cochise County, county residents were glad that one person stood up to defend the election. rice field.

Electoral Commissioner Lisa Mara has challenged supervisors, reporters, and finally judges to break the law or tamper with ballots, as two Republican supervisors and the county recorder ordered her to do. He repeatedly explained that he would not release from his control. .

“I think it’s a felony,” Mara testified during a Nov. 4 court hearing, challenging the full hand count. A judge later ruled that full hand counting was illegal.

Mara is now out of her post. Her departure after her five years in a rural county in southern Arizona has left many residents concerned about the accuracy and safety of future elections. Mara, who is also president of the Arizona Election Commission, is nationally known for her ardent defense of election integrity.

County Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Tyndall said it was reassuring to have someone as trustworthy as Mara running the election amidst the controversy.

“It’s kind of scary what’s going to happen without someone as knowledgeable and brave as Lisa in the office,” Tyndale said.

Marra confirmed to Votebeat on Tuesday that he has resigned through a letter from his attorney to the county.

Mara’s lawyer wrote in the letter that her work environment was physically and emotionally threatening and that she was publicly vilified. according to the Washington Postwas the first to report on her resignation and letter.

Marra said Tuesday night that she could not provide a copy or details of the letter because it was a human resource claim.

“Sadly, their actions have led to this,” she said, apparently referring to her Republican supervisor.

Mara is one of many state and national election officials. left the role In the face of harassment and pressure, you must defend yourself and your work against widespread and unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud. In recent years, Arizona has resigned longtime election commissioners in Pima, Yavapai, and Pinal counties, as well as the Yavapai and Yuma county registrars.

According to a working session draft agenda obtained by Votebeat, Mara departs as supervisors prepare to determine whether the county’s election responsibilities should be reorganized. In Arizona, election duties are typically divided between recorders, who manage early voting and voter registration, and election administrators, who manage most other aspects of election administration.

Republican Overseer Peggy Judd has submitted a request for a Feb. 7 meeting to discuss “better practices, including possible reorganizations of responsible political parties,” among other election-related topics. Judd told Votebeat that he was too busy to speak right away on Wednesday morning.

Marla has been with the county since 2012 and has been an elections officer since 2017.

As chairman of the Arizona Election Commission, after the 2020 election, she became an unofficial spokesperson for election officials, advocating election accuracy during the state Senate’s review of the Maricopa County ballot led by Cyber ​​Ninja. staunchly defended.

She is known in the county for being candid in answering voter questions about the process. Bisbee resident Tami Birch said she didn’t know what she would do if she couldn’t pick up the phone and call Mara. I consider it a statewide loss.

“We are losing one of the most dedicated, rules-abiding, honest and responsive people I have ever met in the electoral system,” Mr Birch said.

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said Mara’s resignation “would be a huge blow to voters served by the Cochise County government.”

Bisbee resident Sheri Van Hosen said county residents were stressed when supervisors pursued the full hand count and were relieved to know Mara was there.

“This is someone who stays sane in a storm of idiots,” said Van Hoossen.

County Superintendent Anne English, the only Democrat on the three-member committee, praised Mara and her commitment to complying with the law when under pressure.

“No matter what the pressure was, she never wavered,” English said.

Ms. English said she doesn’t know how the county will find a suitable replacement.

“I don’t know who can take her place. With all her experience and all the power to put her foot down, I can say, ‘No, I’m following the law. No, I can’t do that,'” Birch said. Told.

The months-long story in Cochise County began more than a month before the midterm elections. That was when Republican Overseers Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd and Recorder’s David Stevens started talking about hand-counting all ballots in an election after the typical machine voting.According to experts threaten election accuracy and confuse voters.

The county attorney and secretary of state told supervisors: full hand counting is illegalState law requires counties to conduct partial hand-count audits of ballots for each election when a political party participates, but does not permit audits of all ballots.

As election administrator, Mara is responsible for the partial hand counts required by this law. Recorder’s David Stevens backed extending the hand count to all ballots, but Mara and county attorneys said it was illegal, but the supervisor said full him anyway. He asks Stevens to do a hand count of

The day after the election, Stevens conducted the first step of a full hand count, choosing which votes to hand count, despite a judge ruling that a full hand count was illegal. Under her statutory duties she did as well as Marra and she completed her formal partial hand count a few days later. As concerns spread that Stevens would try to count his own hand as well, Mara reassured the public that the ballots were sealed.

“The security of the warehouse ballot box under the cameras is secure,” Mara told Votebeat at the time. “He’s not allowed in that building. Access is severely restricted.”

That’s when Crosby and Judd sued her, personally and in her professional role. The lawsuit alleges Mara’s refusal to comply with supervisory orders, failure to conduct the extended handcounts ordered by supervisors, failure to allow registrars and their staff access to the tallying center, and dissemination of ballots to the registrar. claimed that it had not been handed over to

Marra was forced to hire an outside lawyer to defend herself. Shortly after filing that lawsuit, the regulator dropped it, saying it didn’t want to interfere with the expected statewide recount. But the lawsuit clearly marked the low point.

“No great all-day court Because I lost days dealing with this in the midst of a major election,” Mara said on Twitter after the supervisor dropped the lawsuit. It is true that I have filed a personal lawsuit against a local government employee who has no track record of success, not just in public capacity, but personally.

The supervisors then refused to certify the election results and only voted to settle the results. After being ordered to do so by a court.

Residents have now launched a Crosby recall petition and are working to gather signatures. We will also be discussing hand count voting.

Even after the handcount drama, Mara appeared to be down to work, and two days after the lawsuit was dropped, the reason the election officials didn’t quit was “It’s about every voter and every vote”

“I am honored every day to do this work,” she wrote. “Especially where it is needed most. #Arizona.”

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