There is reason to believe that there are people in power within Cochise County who are willing to subvert the electoral process in order to support their preferred candidates.
We know this because… they tried it last time.
Ultimately, it led to an investigation by the Arizona Attorney General's Office and a grand jury indictment charging Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby with felony counts of conspiracy and interfering with election officials.
Attorney General Chris Mays said of the indictment: trying to undermine our democracy is not accepted. I have sworn an oath to uphold the rule of law, and my office will continue to enforce Arizona's election laws and assist election officials in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the office. ”
Cochise County supervisor still on duty
That's all well and good, but Judd and Crosby will remain as coaches, and another election is about to be held.
With that in mind, the government watchdog group American Oversight has filed a lawsuit against Cochise County to provide insight into the county's past election administration decisions and perhaps prevent all kinds of weird things that could happen in the future with public oversight. It is perfectly reasonable to demand the release of public documents where possible. work.
Some people within the Republican Party want:AG impeached for election law enforcement
“The recent indictments of two members of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors reveal what's going on behind closed doors as officials delay certification for the 2022 interim period,” Heather Sawyer, executive director of America's Supervisory Board, said in a statement. “This makes it even more urgent for Arizonans to know what was going on.” As a result, thousands of Arizonans' votes will be at risk.
“As the 2024 election approaches, the people of Cochise County, especially the residents of Cochise County, need to know how officials collaborating with the election denial movement are using their authority to make significant changes to election administration and undermine our democracy. We need to know how we have undermined the political process.”
American Oversight is suing for documents.
Supervisors ran into trouble for trying to conduct a complete hand count in defiance of state law and for refusing to certify the 2022 results.
American Oversight is seeking documents related to these decisions, as well as records regarding ballot security measures, interactions with election deniers, and information about the transfer of election administration authority.That's everything revealed in their lawsuit.
The group also notes that Cochise County, as explained in the news article, A hotbed of election denialism”
Of course, this isn't the only place like it in Arizona.
Indeed, the American surveillance lawsuit reminds us that in a year like this, the only thing worse than government-sponsored election denialism is denying that such a thing exists. I'm saying that.
Here are the locations to arrive in Montini: ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
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