Arizona elections director wants Cochise County supervisors investigated over refusing to certify election results

By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- The Arizona elections director wants prosecutors to investigate and and "take appropriate enforcement actions'' against two Cochise County supervisors who refused to certify election results by the deadline as legally required.
Kori Lorick said that Peggy Judd complied with the law only after being ordered to do so Thursday by a judge. She also noted that Tom Crosby, who was in court that day, "continued to defy his statutory responsibility as well as the court order'' by not even showing up at the board meeting ordered by Pima County Superior Court Judge Casey McGinley to vote to certify.
And Lorick, in her letter to Attorney General Mark Brnovich and County Attorney Brian McIntyre, even laid out for them the criminal laws she believes the two Republicans violated, at least one of which carries a potential prison sentence.
"Supervisors Crosby and Judd knew they had a statutory requirement to canvass the election by Nov. 28, but instead chose to act in violation of the law, putting false election narratives ahead of Cochise County's voters,'' she wrote.
Those "false election narratives,'' Lorick said, were that the equipment the county was using to tabulate the ballots had not been properly certified. She said there was no basis for that, having reassured county officials before the canvass that the machines met state and federal standards.
But Lorick said those claims were bogus in the first place.
"Supervisor Judd even publicly acknowledged that the false claims about equipment certification were merely a pretext, saying the claims were 'the only thing we have to stand on' to not certify the canvass,'' she said.
And Lorick made it clear that she thinks some criminal charges are merited.
"Supervisors Crosby and Judd's actions not only demonstrate a complete disregard for the law but also jeopardize Arizona's democracy,'' she told the two prosecutors who, like the supervisors, are Republicans.
"Had a court not intervened, the failure of these two supervisors to uphold their duty would have disenfranchised thousands of Cochise County voters,'' Lorick said.
That refers to her contention that the statewide canvass, set for Monday, would have had to go ahead with only the votes from the other 14 counties. And that would mean the 47,284 ballots cast by Cochise County residents -- and their choices -- would not have been included in the statewide totals, a move that would have changed the results of elections for state schools chief and Congressional District 6.
"This blatant act of defying Arizona's election laws risks establishing a dangerous precedent that we must discourage,'' she wrote. "I ask that you investigate this conduct and take all necessary action to hold these public officers accountable.''
In seeking an investigation, Lorick cited several laws she believes were broken.
One makes it a Class 3 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine, for a public official to knowingly fail or refuse to perform a duty imposed on them.
Lorick also cited a similar law related specifically to knowingly refusing to do what is required of them under election laws. And that carries a presumptive sentence of a year in state prison.
There was no immediate response from either Judd or Crosby to emails or messages left on their phones.
But Ann English, the third member of the board and the only Democrat, told Capitol Media Services that a criminal probe -- and some sort of sanctions against her errant colleagues -- appears to be appropriate.
"The law was pretty specific about what we were supposed to do,'' English said, which is why she said she tried all along, as the chair of the board, to get them to vote to certify the results. And English said that was backed up by McIntyre who told the board they were legally obligated to complete the canvass -- and do it by this past Monday.
"I'm certainly not vindictive,'' she said.
"But I just don't know what the statement needs to be so that this doesn't become universal in all the small counties, or counties of any size,'' English continued. "The lesson we can learn should be, 'Now, if you do this, what will happen to you.' ''
She said there never really was any question about the accuracy of the results in Cochise County. Nor, English said, was there the kind of controversy about voting procedures on Election Day, as there was in Maricopa County.
Instead, she said, the decision by the other two board members to balk at certification was political.
"They were trying to make a statement that was fed to them by people from the outside about the equipment statewide and about Maricopa,'' English said.
What happened already is only part of the issue. Now comes the question of whether the board can continue to function effectively in the wake of the arguments about the election, the court order to certify the results and, now, a criminal probe of the two Republicans.
"I have two seatmates that I have to work with for the next two years,'' English said. "That was a real concern of mine.''
McIntyre did not respond to inquiries about getting the referral. But he previously told Capitol Media Services before the court order to comply that he was "already looking into the potential issues.''
Brnovich press aide Katie Conner said her office had not yet received the letter. And she took a slap at Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat -- and now the governor-elect -- with whom her boss has clashed previously on election issues.
"Not sure why the media would receive it before us,'' Conner said. "We decline to comment further.''
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