American Oversight Sues Cochise County for Records Related to Election Administration Changes

On Wednesday, American Oversight filed a lawsuit in Cochise County, Ariz., seeking the release of public records regarding the county’s recent election administration decisions, including officials’ refusal to meet Arizona’s deadline for certifying the 2022 midterm results.

Statement from American Oversight Executive Director Heather Sawyer: 

“The recent indictment of two members of Cochise County’s Board of Supervisors makes it even more pressing for the people of Arizona to know what was happening behind closed doors as officials delayed certification of the 2022 midterm results, putting thousands of Arizonans’ votes at risk,” Sawyer said. “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.”

American Oversight filed suit after submitting several public records requests to Cochise County officials. Among the records sought are those related to the county’s attempted hand-count audit of ballots, its refusal to certify the 2022 election results, communications with election denial activists promoting the hand-counting of ballots, and information about the transfer of election administration authority.

Cochise County has become a hotbed for election denialism in recent years, as officials there have promoted false claims about voter fraud and embraced conspiracy theories about voting machines. 

Ahead of the 2022 midterm election, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors voted to hand count all ballots, a move that was successfully challenged in court. Following the election, two of three members of the board — Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby — voted against certifying the results, citing disproven concerns about voting machines and seeking instead to count the votes by hand. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs sued the board for failing to canvass the election results, leading to a court order requiring it to complete the canvass. In November 2023, both Judd and Crosby were indicted by a state grand jury and charged with conspiring to delay the counting of the 2022 votes and interfering with the Arizona secretary of state’s ability to complete the statewide canvass. 

In February 2023, the board voted to transfer election authority from the county’s Elections Department to the county recorder, David Stevens, a proponent of hand counts and unfounded claims about voting machine security. Two months later, Stevens appointed Bob Bartelsmeyer as the county’s elections director — a move that was then approved by Judd and Crosby — despite public concern about social media posts in which Bartelsmeyer, who has since left the position, denied the 2020 election results. 

American Oversight’s lawsuit seeks records from Judd, Crosby, Stevens, County Supervisor Ann English, and Cochise County itself. Today’s lawsuit is available here: https://www.americanoversight.org/document/complaint-american-oversight-v-cochise-county-ariz-records-regarding-election-administration-changes 

Read more about our work in Arizona here and about our investigation into the nationwide network of election deniers here.