Republicans in Arizona County End Effort to Hand Count Ballots

A man departs after casting a ballot in Tombstone, Ariz., on Nov. 3, 2020. Ariana Drehsler/AFP via Getty Images

Two Republican county officials in Arizona have ended a bid to force a hand count of midterm election ballots, saying they don’t want to interfere with the looming recount in at least one statewide race.

Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd told a court on Nov. 16 that they want to withdraw their lawsuit against county Elections Director Lisa Marra.

The pair had asked a judge to compel Marra to hand count the ballots, as the county board had ordered before the election.

A judge in a separate case ruled on Nov. 7 that the county couldn’t perform a hand count of 100 percent of the ballots, but that didn’t preclude Marra from a hand count of less than 100 percent, the supervisors said.

Marra “has refused to comply with the Board’s lawful command” to carry out an expanded hand count, the supervisors said.

A judge’s order was needed because Brian McIntyre, the Republican county attorney, threatened criminal sanctions against Marra if an expanded hand count was conducted, according to the complaint.

In the motion to withdraw the complaint, the supervisors pointed to unofficial election results that show a narrow margin in at least one statewide race that will trigger an automatic recount.

Under Arizona law, any races that end up with a margin of 0.5 percent or less triggers a recount, and the candidates for attorney general are separated by just 711 votes out of some 2.5 million cast. The margin is under 0.1 percent.

“Plaintiffs hereby withdraw their Petition as they do not want to interfere in the process of preparing for a 100% ballot recount,” Bryan Blehm, an attorney representing the supervisors, said in the motion. “Additionally, as the Elections Department will be using different machines and software, it achieves some of the goals envisioned by Plaintiffs in that it will validate or not the closest statewide race on the ballot.”

Crosby and Judd, when approving the hand count, said that it would bolster confidence in elections.

Supervisor Ann English, a Democrat, cast a dissenting vote at the time.

Crosby and Judd have said they disagreed with the court decision barring a 100 percent hand count, but the decision was upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court.

During a Nov. 15 board meeting, supervisors discussed how to fund the suit, with some questions of whether it would cost taxpayer money. A motion on the matter was ultimately tabled until the next meeting.

About 47,000 Cochise County residents voted in the midterms, with about 74 percent utilizing early voting, according to county officials. Most voters chose Republican candidates, according to unofficial results.