Two Republican-leaning counties in rural Arizona have voted to postpone certifying their ballot canvasses as some in the Republican Party claim voters were disenfranchised and to protest the voting issues that emerged and some GOP officials have blamed them for losing top races.
Three conspiracy theorists in Cochise County, an area in the state’s southeastern corner, claimed the county’s vote-counting machines were not properly certified and have convinced on Friday Cochise’s two Republican supervisors to delay certifying the results until a Nov. 28 deadline in a 2-1 vote.
They also demanded a hand count of ballots cast on Election Day filing a lawsuit against Cochise County’s elections director, but the suit was withdrawn on Wednesday.
The allegations made by the GOP supervisors were refuted during Friday’s meeting by Arizona Elections Director Kori Lorick, pointing out that the US Elections Assistance Commission had confirmed the voting machines were in compliance although the labs used to test them did not receive updated certification ahead of the midterms.
Calling it an administrative error, Lorick underscored that the claims that SLI testing labs were not properly accredited are false and that the equipment that Cochise County has used is properly certified under both federal and state laws and requirements.
The second delay in certification of the county canvass happened on Monday in Mohave County, in Arizona’s northwestern corner, where the five Republicans who comprise the Board of Supervisors led to a split vote.
They, however, praised the county’s elections director Allen Tempert’s handling of the election, pointing out their decision as a political statement of solidarity with Arizona’s most populous jurisdiction, the Maricopa County, where some in the GOP raised concerns about voting.
After Arizona’s current secretary of state, the Democrat Katie Hobbs, was declared the winner of the governor’s race last week, GOP candidate Kari Lake claimed – without evidence- that partly because of printer malfunctions in some of the county’s vote centers, many voters were deprived of their right to vote, railing against election officials in Maricopa County.
Mohave will certify the results, as they noted, on the day of the county’s deadline next week.
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