2 Arizona county officials indicted on election interference charges from 2022

PHOENIX — Two Arizona county officials have been indicted on election interference charges stemming from their conduct in 2022, officials announced Wednesday.

Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby, both Republican supervisors in Cochise County, each face one count of conspiracy and one count of interference with an election officer.

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.

“The repeated attempts to undermine our democracy are unacceptable,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a press release.

“I took an oath to uphold the rule of law, and my office will continue to enforce Arizona’s elections laws and support our election officials as they carry out the duties and responsibilities of their offices.”

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

Judd, in a phone conversation with The Associated Press earlier this month prior to the 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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