PHOENIX (AP) — The board that oversees a southeastern Arizona county whose Republican leaders had hoped to count all ballots on Friday, Election Day, has delayed certifying the results of last week’s vote after hearing from a trio of theorists of the conspiracy who claimed that the counting machines were not certified.
The three men, or some combination of them, have filed at least four cases raising similar claims with the Arizona Supreme Court since 2021 seeking to have the 2020 state election results thrown out. The court dismissed all of them for lack of evidence, also waiting long after the certification of the election or seeking relief that could not be granted, with increasingly harsh language.
But Tom Rice, Brian Steiner and Daniel Wood were able to convince the two Republicans who control the Cochise County Board of Supervisors that their claims were valid enough to delay certification until the Nov. 28 deadline.
They alleged that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission allowed testing companies’ certifications to lapse and revoked certifications of vote tabulation equipment used throughout the state.
This was despite testimony from the state’s director of elections that the machines and the testing company were indeed certified.
“The equipment used in Cochise County is properly certified in accordance with federal and state laws and requirements,” state elections director Kori Lorick told the board. “Claims that SLI testing labs have not been properly accredited are false.”
The move is the latest drama in the heavily Republican county in recent weeks, which began when GOP council members Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd voted to manually count all ballots from last week to determine whether the machine count was accurate .
Crosby also defended a lawsuit he and Judd filed against the county elections director earlier this week seeking to force a hand count. They dropped the case against Lisa Marra on Wednesday.
“If our presenters’ request is met with proof that our cars are indeed legally and legally accredited, then we should accept the findings,” Crosby said. “However, if the cars have not been legally certified, then it is also the other way around. We cannot verify these choices now.
Crosby and Judd then voted to delay certification, with Crosby saying he believed Wood, Steiner and Rice should receive evidence because they were the “experts.”
Democratic Supervisor Ann English was unable to overcome them.
The delay jeopardizes state certification, set for Dec. 5, and at least one statewide recount.
Lorick released a statement after the vote, promising legal action to force the council to accept the results. Under Arizona law, the official voter rolls cannot be changed by elected county boards — their only role is to accept the numbers tallied by their election departments.
“If they don’t, the secretary (of state) will use all available remedies to enforce Arizona law and protect the rights of Cochise County voters to count their votes,” Lorick said.
All 15 Arizona counties face the same Nov. 28 deadline, but there is no sign that others are considering a similar challenge.
Once the state certifies the results on Dec. 5, there will be a recount in at least one statewide race.
The race between Republican Abraham Hamadeh and Democrat Chris Mayes for attorney general is so close that a recount is certain. As of Friday night, Mayes led by less than 600 votes, with fewer votes left to count than the margin for a mandatory recount, which will be about 12,500 votes.
“It’s going to be close and every vote counts,” Mayes said in a brief interview. “And we’re obviously headed for a recount, one way or another.”
Another statewide race is also up for a recount, but incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman lost to Republican Tom Horne on Thursday. Horne is a former school superintendent who served two years as attorney general before losing the 2014 primary. He led by more than 9,000 votes Friday.
Horne criticized Hoffman for embracing progressive teaching and vowed to shut down any mention of “critical race theory,” which is not taught in public schools but is a burning issue for social conservatives.
Judd said Wednesday he would step up to pave the way for state recognition.
“We had to step back from everything we were trying to do and say, OK, we have to let it play out,” Judd told The Associated Press. “Because it’s the last thing we want to do to get in (Marra’s) way.”
There was no evidence of widespread fraud or tampering with voting machines in 2020 or during this year’s midterm elections.
Arizona’s recount laws were changed this year. The previous margin for mandatory recount was 1/10 of 1%. It is now 0.5%.
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