Oh, election deniers, here we go again. This time, it involves a conservative and bitter Arizona county.
Politics :
On Monday, Republican officials in the rural Arizona country of Cochise announced they have decided not to certify the 2022 election results. Although there is zero evidence of any election wrongdoing within the state and no other Arizona county has expressed concern over the results, Cochise officials are unhappy with Democratic wins and have therefore refused to proceed with certification.
According to The Associated Press, prominent national Republicans pressed Arizona county officials not to certify the results due to huge and unexpected Democratic wins. For example, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. a Democrat, narrowly beat Republican Kari Lake in the governor’s race. Additionally, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly beat Republican challenger Blake Masters, a win which dampened the GOP’s desire to control the US Senate.
Interestingly, Arizona state law requires that the election be certified by next week. To meet this requirement, officials may have to exclude Cochise County’s votes if they aren’t received in time.
If the state is forced to proceed without the votes of Cochise Country, a US House seat would flip from a Republican victor to a Democrat — effectively defeating the GOP’s stall tactic.
“This was not a perfect election,” said Republican Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates. “But it was safe and secure. The votes have been counted accurately.”
“Delaying this vote again will only prolong the agony without actually changing anything,” said Mohave County’s Republican supervisor, Hildy Angius.
The decision from the lone Arizona county not to certify the 2022 election result can be summed up in 2 words: sore loser.
Since Donald Trump’s defeat in 2020, Republicans have set the precedent that election results are always perfect when they win, but somehow tainted and flawed when they lose. The GOP will force multiple (and expensive) recounts, file frivolous lawsuits, call for an election “do-over,” and effectively kick and scream and throw a tantrum if they don’t get their way and win by any means necessary.
Too bad that’s just now how elections — and democracy — work.
OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
Arizona County is a sore loser.
New York Times: Republican officials in an Arizona county voted on Monday to hold up certification of local results in this month’s midterm elections, reflecting an expansion of partisan battles into obscure elements of the election system and largely uncharted legal territory. The Cochise County board of supervisors refused to certify the results, although members cited no issues with the count or problems in the vote. In Mohave County, Republican supervisors delayed a vote to certify the election, but then backtracked and certified the vote on Monday. The move is unlikely to significantly stall the final results of this year’s elections; state officials have said that if necessary they will pursue legal action to force the board’s certification. But it represents a newfound willingness by some Republican officeholders to officially dispute statewide election results they dislike, even when the local outcomes are not in doubt. “Our small counties, we’re just… Read more »