Two rural Arizona counties have voted to delay certifying their ballot canvasses as some in the GOP claim voters were disenfranchised.
Cochise County, a Republican-leaning area in the state’s southeastern corner, delayed its certification on Friday after three conspiracy theorists claimed the county’s vote-counting machines were not properly certified.
The three men convinced Cochise’s two Republican supervisors to delay certifying the results until a Nov. 28 deadline in a 2-1 vote.
Arizona Elections Director Kori Lorick refuted the allegations at Friday’s meeting, detailing that although the labs used to test voting machines did not receive updated certification ahead of the midterms, the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission had confirmed they were in compliance. Lorick called it an “administrative error.”
“The equipment used in Cochise County is properly certified under both federal and state laws and requirements. The claims that the SLI testing labs were not properly accredited are false,” Lorick said.
Cochise County’s two Republican supervisors had also filed a lawsuit against the county’s elections director seeking a hand count of ballots cast on Election Day, but they filed to withdraw the suit on Wednesday.
In Mohave County, which is located in Arizona’s northwestern corner, the five Republicans who comprise the Board of Supervisors delayed their certification of the county canvass in a split vote on Monday.
B.C. Begley 