Less than 24 hours after a Pima County judge said it is unlawful for the Cochise County board of supervisors to conduct a hand count audit of all ballots cast in its 2022 General Election, those supervisors announced an emergency meeting for Wednesday to address the ruling.
The sole item on the agenda of the 1 p.m. meeting reads “Discussion and possible direction to outside legal counsel, Mr. Bryan Blehm from The Valley Law Group, PLLC, regarding litigation and options in the matter of Arizona Alliance of Retired Americans, Inc. and Stephani Stephenson v. Tom Crosby, Ann English, Peggy Judd, David Stevens, and Lisa Marra, all in their official capacities, CV202200518.”
Cochise County voted last month to bypass the small hand count sampling of early ballots and election day ballots currently outlined in state law in favor of a full hand count of both. A lawsuit by Arizona Alliance of Retired Americans sought a permanent injunction to block only the county’s plans to hand count 100 percent of early ballots.
The group’s lawsuit makes no mention of attempting to stop the county’s plans to hand count all ballots cast Tuesday at the county’s 17 voting centers.
But McGinley’s 12-page ruling granting the injunction against the early ballot hand count included a prohibition against the board from conducting a hand count of 100 percent of ballots cast in-person.
One question expected to be addressed at Wednesday’s meeting with Blehm is whether McGinley had jurisdiction to include election day ballots in the injunction, as that question was not before the court as part of the lawsuit. By law, the hand count process must begin by 7 p.m. Wednesday, which typically entails selecting the races and voting centers that will be subject to the audit.
The agenda for Wednesday’s meeting also includes public notice that the supervisors may go into executive session per Arizona Revised Statute 38-431.03(A)(3) and (4) “for legal advice with the attorney of the public body and to consider its position and instruct attorneys regarding the public body’s position in pending litigation.”
It is unclear whether the supervisors will also hear from Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre, who previously advised the county’s three-member board that their plans for an expanded hand count were unlawful. McIntyre conflicted his office off of representing any of the defendants, including Election Director Lisa Marra and County Recorder David Stevens.
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