Republican supervisors in Cochise County refused Monday to certify the 2022 election, a failure to follow state law that will soon prompt a lawsuit from state election officials.
On a 2-to-1 vote Monday morning, two Republican supervisors voted to again delay certification until Friday. But the legal deadline for counties to canvass the election is Monday.
“The secretary will use all available legal remedies to compel compliance with Arizona law and protect voters’ right to have their votes counted,” Sophia Solis, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, said in a statement.
Solis added that a lawsuit would be filed by 5 p.m. Monday to compel the Cochise County supervisors to follow the law.
The GOP supervisors, Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd, have cited doubts about how voting machines were certified as reason to delay certification. The first voted to delay certification on Nov. 18, pushing up against the legal deadline.
Documents previously provided to Cochise County confirmed the voting equipment was properly certified before the election, Solis said.