Watchdog group sues Cochise County over delays in election-related records
A watchdog group is suing Cochise County officials for delays in providing records related to the county's controversial management of the 2022 election, from its attempt at a hand count of all ballots to the taxpayer cost of hiring outside attorneys.
American Oversight filed the suit Wednesday in Cochise County Superior Court, asking that its numerous requests be fulfilled "immediately."
The Washington, D.C.-based group is familiar with Arizona: It sued the Arizona Senate over its ballot recount of the 2020 election. After a protracted legal battle, the organization received a $153,000 settlement from the Senate and $43,000 in attorney fees.
The Arizona Republic also sued the Senate and Cyber Ninjas, the lead contractor for the recount.
In its lawsuit against Cochise County, American Oversight is asking for "reasonable attorney fees" as well as any other relief the court might award.
The recent indictment of Cochise supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd makes the records response even more urgent, American Oversight's executive director, Heather Sawyer, said in a statement.
“With the 2024 election looming, the public, especially Cochise County residents, should know how officials aligned with the election denial movement have used their authority to make significant changes to election administration and to undermine our democratic processes," Sawyer said.
The suit names the three county supervisors: Crosby, Judd and Ann English. English voted against the attempts to authorize a hand count and the effort to delay election certification. The suit also names county Recorder David Stevens, and the county as a government entity.
County officials were not immediately available for comment.
The records, which The Republic also is seeking, could help shed light on the county's maneuvers during the tumultuous days both before and after the Nov. 8 election, the lawsuit states. It cites five public records requests it sent to the county, beginning days before the November 2022 election and continuing through April 2023.
In addition to seeking documents related to the attempted full hand count and the refusal to certify the 2022 results, the records requests seek information on the county's exploration of costly ballot security measures and communications with conspiracy theorists. It does not name those individuals but notes it involves Stevens' potential contact with state lawmakers and 26 "other external individuals and entities."
Although the county, in at least one case, replied to a records request by directing American Oversight to its website, where official documents are posted, in most cases, the county replied it was "working diligently" to fulfill the requests.
One of those requests dates back more than a year; the latest was filed three months ago.
The county's actions unleashed a series of lawsuits. The attempted hand count was ruled illegal by the Cochise County Superior Court and upheld on appeal.
The attempt to delay certification by not canvassing the election results led to a court order to do so, although Crosby did not show up to comply with the order.
Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lawsuit targets Cochise County for election records delay
