Conservative Arizona county refuses to certify election results, sparking 2 lawsuits and potential chaos


Fourteen of Arizona's 15 counties voted Monday to certify the results of the 2022 midterms, meeting the state's Nov. 28 deadline for county supervisors to canvass the election. But Cochise County's two Republican supervisors voted against certification, prompting lawsuits from voters in the conservative southeastern county and from Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor-elect, asking the courts to force the county supervisors to certify the election by Thursday.
"For most of the 110 years since Arizona became the nation's 48th state, canvass day was a routine marker," The Arizona Republic reports. Certifying vote tallies was seen as a formality nationwide as well — until local election officials started experimenting with trying to derail election results they did not like after the 2020 election, prodded on by former President Donald Trump. Several other GOP-heavy Arizona counties discussed refusing to certify the results this year, but only Cochise followed through.
The two GOP Cochise County supervisors, Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby, voted to meet again Friday, saying they wanted to hear more about the certification of voting machines. But Judd told The New York Times that the voting machine claim, debunked by state and county election officials, was "the only thing we have to stand on" to protest the election in Maricopa County, Arizona's most populous. "Our small counties, we're just sick and tired of getting kicked around and not being respected," she said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ann English, the Democrat on Cochise County's Board of Supervisors, voted to certify the vote. "I think they're trying to breed chaos and discontent," she told the Times, referring to Judd and Crosby. All three supervisors could now face Class 6 state felony charges for refusing to carry out election law, with possible fines and up to two years in jail, the Republic reports.
Hobbs' office also threatened last week to reluctantly certify the state election results on Dec. 8 without Cochise County's votes. Excluding the votes from heavily Republican county "would threaten to flip the victor in at least two close races — a U.S. House seat and state schools chief — from a Republican to a Democrat," The Associated Press reports, and potentially avert a recount of the state attorney general's race, where Democrat Kris Mayes beat Republican Abraham Hamadeh by just 510 votes.
The most likely scenario, however, is that state courts force Cochise County to certify the election, as happened in New Mexico's Otero County earlier this year.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other cities
speed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore