ARIZONA NEWS

Judge rules election interference cases to continue for 2 Arizona county officials

Jun 18, 2024, 3:17 PM

Republican Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby, left, and Peggy Judd, right, face election interf...

Republican Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby, left, and Peggy Judd, right, face election interference charges. (Facebook Photo/Cochise County - Government)

(Facebook Photo/Cochise County - Government)

PHOENIX — A Maricopa County judge denied motions Tuesday by two Arizona county officials to dismiss their cases on potential election interference from 2022.

Judge Geoffrey Fish said the cases against Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby, both Republican supervisors in Cochise County, will continue.

“This is a serious case and the charges have merit,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement. “Today’s ruling by the court supports that. While the defendants are innocent until proven guilty, as are all defendants in our criminal justice system, my office is prepared to move forward with this case and pursue justice for the people of Arizona.”

The supervisors refused to certify 2022 midterm election results by the state-mandated Dec. 1 deadline and only did so after a judge ordered them to do so, saying the Republicans had broken the law with their inaction.

Judd and Crosby didn’t cite any problems with the election results. Rather, they said they weren’t satisfied that the machines used to tabulate ballots were properly certified for use in elections, though state and federal election officials said they were.

Supervisor Ann English, the only Democrat on the three-member board, isn’t facing charges. English voted to certify the results while her Republican counterparts held out.

Most of the southeastern Arizona county’s 47,000 votes went to Republicans.

Judd, in a phone conversation with The Associated Press prior to her November 2023 indictment, said she has no regrets about her actions last year and is prepared to defend herself.

“The grand jury will do what they do and I’ve heard that’s not the end of it once they make a decision,” Judd said. “I’ve never been a criminal in my life and I don’t intend to be this time either.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Judge rules election interference cases to continue for 2 Arizona county officials