Cochise County Board of Supervisors in Arizona backpedaled on a decision to hand-count all ballots in the midterm elections, opting instead only to hand-count some of them.
The sudden reversal came in light of threats from Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to take legal action if the county went forward with the plan approved earlier this week, according to KOLD 13 News. The Cochise County attorney also stated he would not represent the board if lawsuits were brought against it. In the face of this pressure, the board held an emergency meeting, voting to reverse course on their Monday 2-1 vote and opt for only a partial hand count.
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“There is nothing in the law that would permit them to do the full hand count of all the ballots,” said Allie Bones, the deputy secretary of state, according to the news outlet. “You cannot do what you want to do.”
“We have a very descriptive law and procedures when it comes to election’s administration,” she added. “And those things have to be followed.”
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Supporters of the previous decision argued that hand-counting ballots would help prevent any error by the counting machines. Opponents said that it would be less reliable and take much longer than machine counting.
Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for Arizona’s governor who has made election integrity a key component of her campaign, voiced her support for the board’s previous decision, urging all of Arizona to follow their lead. Lake is running against Hobbs.
