TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In a special session of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors Monday morning, the three-person board voted to postpone certifying the election until the end of the week.
The motion on the floor was to table the certification vote for the remainder of the week—until Friday, Dec. 2. The state canvass of the general election takes place on Monday, Dec. 5.
This is the second time the Board has voted to postpone its certification of the results submitted by the Cochise County Elections Department.
The first instance was the Board's Nov. 18 meeting, when they tabled the motion to accept the election results. Board members left that item tabled in the Nov. 28 meeting.
Supervisor Ann English (D2) was the sole 'no' vote on the board, making the argument against postponing the vote certification further. Supervisors Tom Crosby, (D1) and Peggy Judd (D3) voted for postponing the vote.
Addressing Board, English said, "There's no reason for us to delay. We have heard from every person, more than once...we have heard from the Secretary of State's office."
English continued: "We have been provided materials that were asked for at the last meeting, from both sides. And I feel that you both have information necessary in order to make this decision that's non-discretionary on our part to certify the election for Cochise County, no matter how you feel about what happened in Maricopa or Pima or Mojave or Apache. We're here to talk about Cochise County."
On Monday, Nov. 21, State Elections Director Kori Lorick penned a letter to the Cochise County Board as a response to their Nov. 18 vote to postpone certification.
"Bad faith attempts to derail Arizona’s democracy will not go unaddressed.
If the Board refuses to certify the canvass by November 28, the Secretary will take all available legal action, including filing a special action to compel the Board’s compliance.
If the Board still has not certified by the state canvass deadline, the state canvass will proceed regardless, as is required under Arizona’s law, and your refusal to certify will only serve to disenfranchise Cochise County voters.
Please let me know if you need any additional information prior to your November 28 meeting to certify Cochise’s election results."
~ Kori Lorick, State Elections Director
The letter also contained confirmation that Cochise County's voting machines, Election Systems & Software Voting System version 6.0.4.0, have been certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in an accredited lab.
Lorick said in the letter that the EAC provided confirmation "specifically in response to concerns raised at the Board's meeting" that the lab performing the tests was properly accredited according to the requirements.
The Cochise County Board does have a regular meeting planned for Tuesday, Nov. 29, but there is no item on the agenda related to Friday's vote certification.
Monday at 5 p.m. is the deadline to certify the election results for individual counties.
The Secretary of State's office has indicated it "will use all available legal remedies to compel compliance with Arizona law and protect Cochise County voters’ right to have their votes counted."
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Anne Simmons is the digital executive producer for KGUN 9. Anne got her start in television while still a student at the University of Arizona. Before joining KGUN, she managed multiple public access television stations in the Bay Area and has worked as a video producer in the non-profit sector. Share your story ideas and important issues with Anne by emailing anne.simmons@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.