Current:Home > FinanceTwo county officials in Arizona plead not guilty to charges for delaying 2022 election certification-LoTradeCoin
Two county officials in Arizona plead not guilty to charges for delaying 2022 election certification
View Date:2024-12-24 07:25:24
PHOENIX (AP) — Two officials from a rural Arizona county pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony charges for delaying the certification of their county’s 2022 midterm election results.
Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby had balked for weeks about certifying the results, in a process known as canvassing. They didn’t cite problems with election results, but 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.
During brief arraignment hearings on Thursday, Judd and Crosby pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and interference with an election officer and were informed of future court dates, including a May 16 trial.
“We feel like there is no basis for these charges,” Kurt Altman, an attorney for Judd, said outside of court. “She was charged for doing her job.”
Crosby and Tim Grimm, a lawyer representing the supervisor, declined to comment after the hearing. The county finally certified its results after a judge ruled the Republican supervisors broke the law when they refused to sign off on the vote count by a deadline. Crosby skipped the meeting, leaving Judd and Supervisor Ann English, the board’s lone Democrat, to finally approve the canvass, allowing the statewide certification to go forward as scheduled.
Then-Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, now Arizona’s governor, had warned she might have to certify statewide results without numbers from Cochise County if they weren’t received in time, an outcome that would have tipped the balance of several close races.
Days before the 2022 general election, the Republican supervisors abandoned plans to hand count all ballots, which a court said would be illegal. They demanded the secretary of state prove vote-counting machines were legally certified before they would approve the election results. Judd and Crosby aren’t charged with conduct related to plans for hand counting ballots.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Trump announces Tom Homan, former director of immigration enforcement, will serve as ‘border czar’
- Ho, ho, hello! How to change your smart doorbell to a festive tune this holiday season
- Deadly blast in Guinea’s capital threatens gas shortages across the West African nation
- Members of a union representing German train drivers vote for open-ended strikes in bitter dispute
- Solawave Black Friday Sale: Don't Miss Buy 1, Get 1 Free on Age-Defying Red Light Devices
- Phony postage stamp discounts are scamming online buyers: What to know
- A look at recent deadly earthquakes in China
- Coal miners lead paleontologists to partial mammoth fossil in North Dakota
- Where you retire could affect your tax bill. Here's how.
- Former Pennsylvania death row inmate freed after prosecutors drop charges before start of retrial
Ranking
- Chrysler recalls over 200k Jeep, Dodge vehicles over antilock-brake system: See affected models
- Miss France Winner Eve Gilles Defends Her Pixie Haircut From Critics
- UN Security Council in intense negotiations on Gaza humanitarian resolution, trying to avoid US veto
- Convicted sex offender escaped prison after his mom gave him disguise, Texas officials say
- New Jersey will issue a drought warning after driest October ever and as wildfires rage
- Putin ratchets up military pressure on Ukraine as he expects Western support for Kyiv to dwindle
- How that (spoiler!) cameo in Trevor Noah’s new Netflix special came to be
- George Santos says he'll be back — and other takeaways from his Ziwe interview
Recommendation
-
Cold case arrest: Florida man being held in decades-old Massachusetts double murder
-
Study: Abortions on TV remain unrealistic — but 'Morning Show' treatment was nuanced
-
Cause remains unclear for Arizona house fire that left 5 people dead including 3 young children
-
Italian fashion influencer apologizes for charity miscommunication, is fined 1 million euros
-
Mike Tyson is expected to honor late daughter during Jake Paul fight. Here's how.
-
Alabama man with parrot arrested in Florida after police say he was high on mushrooms
-
Minnesota's new state flag design is finalized
-
Kim Kardashian's SKIMS Drops 4 Midnight Kiss-Worthy New Year's Eve Collections