This week, the Mohave County Board of Supervisors directed the county’s elections chief to form a plan to count ballots by hand in 2024.
After Supervisor Ron Gould moved for a vote, the board approved it 4-1.
The motion had referenced a recent letter from state Sen. Sonny Borrelli that attempted to direct counties to not use voting machines as the primary method of conducting elections.
The letter cited a senate resolution that has no force of law.
After alleging suspicious activity in the way Maricopa County handled early ballots, Board Chairman Travis Lingenfelter says the issue is about trust.
“Voting machines are just an instrument to carry out an election. And the real thing we are trying to solve here, whether it be Arizona or some of the other states is voter trust. And a lot of people don’t trust those machines," Lingenfelter said.
In a statement, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes shared concerns about the potential of hand counts to put officials in legal jeopardy.
In a letter to county supervisors, Fontes cautioned that counting by hand is more prone to human error.
Mohave supervisors will ultimately need to approve the hand-count plan.
