Mohave County was promised volunteers and a lawyer. It still won't hand count ballots

Mohave County supervisors voted Monday against hand counting ballots cast in next year's elections — a move that would have been legally questionable and could have majorly impacted next year's presidential race.

Supervisors' 3-2 vote came after a more than hour-long public comment period punctuated by applause and outbursts from the audience. Supervisors Ron Gould and Hildy Angius voted for the proposal, and supervisors Jean Bishop, Buster Johnson and Travis Lingenfelter voted against it.

Lingenfelter is the board's chair. He hesitated on his vote until prompted by Angius.

"I'm going to vote no," he said, to some applause from the audience.

County supervisors already considered tallying its ballots by hand in August, but voted the proposal down 3-2. The effort was estimated to add an extra $1.1 million to the $18 million budget deficit the county was already grappling with.

Supervisors brought the issue back to the agenda for reconsideration after receiving a letter from attorney Bryan Blehm pledging to represent Mohave County at "no cost" in any lawsuits that might result from greenlighting manual tabulation.

"Any litigation will be 100% private pay," Blehm wrote, although he didn't disclose who might be paying him.

Blehm worked for Cyber Ninjas to help run Maricopa County's hand count review of ballots cast in the 2020 presidential race. Later, he represented Cochise County as it tried to hand count midterm ballots last year.

The State Bar of Arizona is investigating two complaints against Blehm, according to state bar spokesperson Taylor Tasler. One is related to Blehm's conduct in former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's ongoing lawsuit seeking to overturn her election loss, the other involves his public postings about the Arizona Supreme Court, Tasler said.

Supervisors also were promised 300 volunteers to assist with the tallying by Mohave County GOP Chair Jeanne Kentch. She wrote in a letter to the board that her volunteers expect "zero compensation" for their work.

"The Republican voters of Mohave County understand the importance of holding a hand count," said Kentch, who also serves as the county's elected assessor. "They understand the need to validate votes and prove the process of an actual hand-count can work."

Supervisors heard fierce debate on the issue from more than two dozen public speakers. Some sought to dissuade them from authorizing hand counting, warning that the move is legally questionable and could result in Mohave County voters being disenfranchised if votes cannot be tallied in time to hit election deadlines.

"You sow doubt in the integrity of elections every time you bring this up," said Mohave County Democratic Central Committee Chair Elaine Downing, who also encouraged all voters to become poll workers and witness the election process firsthand.

Many others spoke in favor of hand counting, at times echoing baseless conspiracies around fraud and election integrity. They listed election integrity as a defining issue leading into 2024 and encouraged Mohave County supervisors to lead the state by becoming the first county to commit to hand counting next year.

"You cannot put a price on voter confidence," said Jennifer Esposito, who is running for the Mohave County Board of Supervisors next year as a Republican. "If I were sitting in your seat, this is something I would be willing to go to jail for — and I do not say that lightly."

All of the county's supervisors are Republicans. Supervisor seats are among the county positions on the ballot in 2024.

Hand counting faces logical challenges

Trials have shown that hand counting is less accurate, more expensive and far slower than counting with tabulators.

Last time Mohave County supervisors considered hand-counting ballots, Elections Director Allen Tempert told them adamantly that tallying the county's ballots manually would be unfeasible.

His report on the matter concluded that it would take one group of seven people about 657 eight-hour days to tally all of the 105,000 ballots cast in the 2020 General Election, not including the extra time needed to correct any errors or to consider votes for write-in candidates. He voiced concerns about staffing, confidentiality, timeliness and cost to taxpayers.

Other tests of hand counting have come to similar conclusions.

Former Pinal County Elections Director Geraldine Roll began a trial hand count of 2,000 test ballots from the 2022 election before abruptly leaving her position. She found that each batch of 25 ballots took her team about 80 minutes to count.

Amid the Maricopa County ballot review, Cyber Ninjas CEO Doug Logan admitted in text messages that he couldn't accurately tally a hand count of the county's 2.1 million ballots, noting that the numbers were "screwy."

Is hand counting legal in Arizona?

Beyond logistics, there are also questions about the legality of hand counting.

Blehm told Mohave County supervisors in his letter that "it is well within Mohave County's right to hand count its ballots."

But Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has long warned county officials across the state that they have no authority under state law to hand count ballots. Mayes, a Democrat, has pledged to restore trust in elections and prosecute individuals who threaten election officials.

She told Mohave County officials in a letter over the weekend that the "legal consequences would be serious" if they opted to hand count. She also expressed concern that supervisors had "received incorrect legal advice from bad-faith actors who are attempting to sow doubt in Arizona's elections and ultimately undermine Arizona's democratic process."

Read the letter: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes' letter to Mohave County officials

In response to the supervisors' vote, Mayes said in a statement that she was "greatly relieved" that the county wouldn't authorize a hand count of ballots, praising them for "upholding Arizona law."

"As Attorney General, it is my duty to enforce our laws and ensure the integrity of our elections," she said. "The Board’s decision to adhere to state-mandated procedures for ballot counting avoids potential legal complications and reinforces public trust in the integrity of our elections."

Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told Mohave County supervisors in June that he also believes attempting a hand count would be illegal.

Meanwhile, a recent ruling by the Arizona Court of Appeals found that Cochise County officials had no authority to attempt to hand count all ballots cast in the 2022 general election.

Two Cochise County supervisors are now being investigated by the Attorney General's Office after attempting to hand count midterm results and delay certification last year.

Mohave County Deputy Attorney Ryan Esplin said Arizona law clearly allows for machine tabulation. It doesn't clearly allow hand counting, he said.

"Our advice to you is take the safe route and use the machines," he said. "We are absolutely positive, 100%, that is legal."

Esplin called it "an honor and a privilege" to represent the board, but said he would recommend that the county Attorney's Office not represent the supervisors if they opted to hand count ballots, citing a difference of opinion on the issue and concerns about a conflict of interest between the board, the county recorder and county staff.

Republic reporter Stacey Barchenger contributed reporting to this article.

Sasha Hupka covers county government and election administration for The Arizona Republic. Do you have a tip to share on elections or voting? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mohave County supervisors vote against hand counting ballots proposal