Democrat Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs threatened to sue officials in Cochise County if they choose to count ballots by hand, a process that’s “time intensive and prone to human error.”
This new decision by Cochise County comes after Arizona Corporation Commissioner, Jim O’Connor, sent a letter to all Arizona Counties demanding they immediately cease the use of voting machines in the upcoming 2022 General Election.
The Cochise County Board of Supervisors will meet on Monday, October 24 to “order a hand count of all ballots cast in the General Election to be held on November 8, 2022, to be completed prior to Canvass of Election Results.”
The Board of Supervisors provided the following explanation for their decision:
Over 100 volunteers have mobilized and seek to be vetted, trained and participate in a hand count of all ballots in our County for the upcoming General Election. They are wishing to take part in this way to help people (including a few of the participants) who have lost trust in elections to see that elections are reliable and secure in our county. Two other results of this hand count will be simply a 100% audit of machine accuracy and a test of our back-up plan in case some or all of our machines become compromised or fail at last minute. This count will not affect the outcome of this election County Recorder David Stevens, our State Senator and Representatives are in support of this and will be able to follow through with proper action in the Legislature, if that is needed. None of the voting process will be altered. Must be completed prior to Certification of Election. Machine count will determine election outcome.
Election Dept Staff or BOS Designee to Call for applicants to execute the hand count. The same to select, vet, and train applicants. Using methods prescribed by statute for hand counts and suggestions from Recorder Stevens, selected staff members will design a secure and executable plan. Provide for supplies and secure areas to hold the hand counts. Report results of the hand count to Board of Supervisors not less than 5 days prior to the Certification of Election.
The County will still count ballots using machines, but they will conduct a hand count audit of 100% of the ballots.
In response to Hobbs’ threat, the Arizona Freedom Caucus has released the following statement:
At a time when confidence in our electoral system seems to be at an all-time low, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs seems intent on further eroding the people’s confidence. Cochise County does not want to do anything other than ensure the ballots were accurately counted yet Secretary Hobbs, who is coincidentally on the ballot in a very tight race for Governor, is intent on preventing this audit from occurring. Rather than working with them to lawfully ensure that votes are properly counted, Hobbs is instead threatening legal action.
The Arizona Freedom Caucus wants nothing more than free and fair elections that the people can have confidence in and firmly supports a hand recount in any county. Arizona Freedom Caucus Vice Chair, Rep. Jacqueline Parker, said the following:
“The questions surrounding the 2020 election have left a bad taste in the mouths of many. The people simply want an electoral system they can have confidence in, yet Secretary Hobbs seems only interested in subverting the integrity of our electoral process. If we lose faith in our elections, we lose faith in our system of governance as a whole.”
The Arizona Freedom Caucus condemns Secretary Hobbs’ continual attacks on the integrity of our elections and stands behind all efforts to lawfully make our election as fair as possible.
