The Cochise County Board of Supervisors on Monday voted a ballot requiring a ballot recount in the Nov. 8 election, a move that is illegal and could lead to lawsuits and loss of state funds. There were dire warnings from lawyers and others that there was sex.
In a four-hour conference and public testimony, Republican directors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd voted in favor of Crosby’s proposed bill. threw.
“It’s a matter of the people, it’s about our voting rights and how our votes are counted and how confident we are in the electoral process,” Judd said at the meeting.
State Election Service Director Cori Rorick, who attended the meeting on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of State, said the board would face litigation if the ballot proposal passed. warned the commission that it would ask the Attorney General to investigate the commission’s actions, which could lead to the seizure of state funds.
Rorrick also said, “It would be impossible to complete an accurate hand count of an election with dozens of races on the ballot without redirecting the critical resources needed to run the election.” .
With just two weeks until the election, she warned that the proposal would confuse voters.
“Attempting to implement a full handcount at this late stage would jeopardize the county’s ability to conduct fair and accurate elections,” Rorrick said.
Many of the bill’s supporters speaking at the conference said they were afraid the voting machines were not properly certified, but Rorick insisted the machines were federally and state certified. . She also said the state is conducting pre- and post-election logic and accuracy tests, as well as limited post-election hand-count audits.
A spokesperson for the Arizona County Insurance Pool also attended the meeting. He told supervisors it was “inappropriate” to expect other counties to pay Cochise County’s attorney fees in the face of litigation. warned his supervisor that he would not hire a lawyer for them.
“It’s up to the county to make the appropriate decisions on these as a way to defend a lawsuit. My experience is that no matter what you do in this situation, there will be lawsuits,” he said.
After the vote on Tuesday, the Office of the Secretary of State sent a letter to the commission asking for clarification on what the county plans to do with respect to hand counting. The supervisors have scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday at 1:00 pm to discuss the letter and the legal representation of the board.
County Attorney Warns Supervisors
Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre has repeatedly said the proposal is illegal. At Monday’s meeting, he reiterated that the law does not allow him to count another hand. He also said county officials will not be asked to break the law.
He pointed out that all other counties in the state, including Pinal County, have come to the same conclusion.
“Ultimately, Congress is the right place to deal with this. No,” McIntyre said.
More than 100 attendees filled the Bisbee Supervisory Board hearing room. The scene was tense as members of the public appeased and booed those opposing the bill. To those who supported the measures. All seats were taken and the general public lined the walls.
Some attendees brought autographs, mostly in favor of the bill and a few against it.
Members of the public who opposed the move said it was a waste of time and money. Many speakers said it was illegal and they trusted the current voting system. They pleaded with Judd and Crosby to vote against the bill.
Opponents also said they didn’t want taxpayer dollars going into ballot handcounts.
Participants who spoke out in favor of hand-counting ballots said they were concerned that voting machines were not properly authenticated. Others wondered why people were so worried about handcounts when they had nothing to hide. He repeatedly said that confidence in the electoral system had been eroded.
Despite suggestions that the hand count “should be completed before the general election results canvas,” Judd said the count would take place “completely later.” did not explain.
Before voting on the bill, Judd said she was unlikely to change her mind despite legal advice.
“I want to take this chance. My heart and my work are there and I don’t want to back down. I might go to jail,” she said of the proposal.
Handcount can take 2,500 hours
The Arizona Legislative Council also weighed in on the issue, and in a memo to Rep. Gail Griffin (R-Hereford), legislative attorneys reiterated questions about the legality of hand-counting ballots. rice field.
The memo said that counting ballots by hand, in addition to the use of electronic counting devices, is prohibited “unless it becomes impossible to count all or part of the ballots with the counting device.” increase.
Cochise County has approximately 87,000 voters. In 2020, about 61,000 of them voted.
according to Votebeat Arizona Articlecounty director of elections, Lisa Mara, estimates that the proposed handcount will take about 2,500 hours to complete.
English, a Democrat on the county commission, said she hadn’t heard any details about how handcounts would work or how they would be paid. He said he believed it was nothing.
“We are designed by the state. They tell us what we can do,” English said. “So if they haven’t empowered us, we can’t do it.”
Southern Arizona coverage on azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic is funded by Report for America, a nonprofit affiliated with The Republic.
Please contact the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com.
