Arizona Secretary of State’s Office files lawsuit against Cochise County over elections
Nov 28, 2022, 9:15 PM | Updated: Nov 29, 2022, 8:10 am
PHOENIX — Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ Office filed a lawsuit Monday evening against the Cochise County Board of Supervisors for failing to meet the required deadline to canvass the election.
The complaint states the board didn’t fulfill its duty to certify the election on Monday, which could potentially disenfranchise the voters of Cochise County.
Republicans on the rural county board refused to certify the election regardless of no evidence of a count being incorrect.
The secretary’s office states in the filing that special action relief was granted, which compels the Cochise County board to canvass the election by Thursday to give Hobbs time to meet the Dec. 5 deadline for the statewide canvass.
Failure to do so would mean all votes from the county would be dropped.
“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.