Two Republican county supervisors in Arizona were indicted Wednesday on felony charges related to their attempts to delay the certification of 2022 election results.
Last year, Ms. Judd and Mr. Crosby sought to order a hand count of the ballots that had been cast in Cochise, a heavily Republican rural county, citing conspiracy theories that had been raised by local right-wing activists.
When a judge ruled against them, they voted to delay certification of the election before eventually relenting under pressure of a court order.
The episode was closely watched by democracy advocates and election law experts, who saw in the supervisors’ machinations a worrying precedent.
As Donald J. Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him became widely accepted in the Republican Party, local Republican officials in several closely contested states used suspicion of the election system on the right to justify delaying the certification of 2022 election results.
Persons:
Kris Mayes, Peggy Judd, Tom Crosby, Judd, Crosby, Donald J
Organizations:
Republican, Republican Party
Locations:
Arizona, Cochise County, Cochise