On Wednesday, Arizona’s Attorney General announced that a grand jury had indicted two Republican county supervisors from Cochise County, Peggy Judd (R) and Tom Crosby (R). They face felony charges of interfering with an election officer and conspiracy in connection to the alleged delay in certifying the midterm elections results from the previous year.
Arizona had become a focal point for Republican challenges to the 2022 midterm elections, spurred by former President Trump’s baseless claims of widespread electoral fraud in the state during his re-election bid two years earlier.
According to the indictment issued earlier this week, Judd (61) and Crosby (64) are accused of impeding the timely transmission of the county’s vote returns to be included in the statewide canvass. A year ago, the duo voted against certifying the county’s midterm election results before the statutory deadline, citing concerns raised by a trio of conspiracy theorists who asserted that the county’s voting machines lacked proper accreditation.
Contrary to their claims, the Arizona Secretary of State’s office and the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission have refuted the allegations. Cochise County, a Republican-controlled area in the southeast of the state, was the sole jurisdiction that failed to certify within the stipulated deadline.
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Ultimately, the three-member county board certified the results several days later after a court mandated them to do so. Notably, Crosby was absent from the meeting and did not cast a vote, whereas Judd voted in favor of certification.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D), who narrowly won her 2022 elections, expressed strong disapproval of what she termed “repeated attempts to undermine our democracy.” She emphasized her commitment to upholding the rule of law and pledged to enforce Arizona’s election laws, supporting election officials in carrying out their duties.
“The repeated attempts to undermine our democracy are unacceptable,” Mayes said. “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.”
