Maricopa County certifies 2022 midterm election, leaving Cochise as lone holdout
Nov 28, 2022, 3:28 PM
PHOENIX — Maricopa County certified the 2022 midterm election, leaving Cochise County as the lone holdout ahead of Monday’s deadline.
Arizona’s most populous county unanimously voted to approve the canvass of more than 1.56 million voters who cast a ballot in the Nov. 8 election.
Officials have reiterated that all votes in Maricopa County were tallied accurately despite some Election Day ballot printer issues.
“Today’s canvass represents another important step in the democratic process,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates said in a press release.
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“I am proud of the way our Elections Department responded to unexpected challenges on Election Day and provided voters with proven, secure options that allowed their votes to count.”
Next up for Maricopa County and the other 14 Arizona counties is the required automatic recount for two statewide races — including attorney general — on Dec. 5.
Cochise County’s refusal to certify the election leaves the state with some unknowns ahead of the recount.
State election officials have said they will sue Cochise County if the board of supervisors misses Monday’s deadline.
“The Board of Supervisors had all of the information they needed to certify this election and failed to uphold their responsibility for Cochise voters,” Sophia Solis, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, said in an email.
Arizona was long a GOP stronghold, but this month Democrats won most of the highest profile races over Republicans who aggressively promoted Trump’s 2020 election claims.
Kari Lake, the GOP candidate for governor who lost to Hobbs, and Mark Finchem, the candidate for secretary of state, have refused to acknowledge their losses.
They blame Republican election officials in Maricopa County for a problem with the ballot printers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
