Maricopa County, Arizona, one of the country’s hotbeds of questions surrounding election interference and misconduct, is back in the headlines again today.
The county’s Republican Committee has unanimously passed a resolution calling on the state Legislature to file impeachment charges against Arizona’s attorney general.
Democrat Kris Mayes won that seat in the 2022 election against the Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Abe Hamadeh. The margin was only 280 votes out of more than 2.5 million ballots.
Maricopa County Republican leaders want Mayes ousted for indicting election officials on charges that they interfered with that election. Last month a state grand jury approved the indictment of two Cochise County election officials who delayed certification of the midterm election results.
Because they were concerned about the integrity of their county’s midterm outcome, Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd, 61, and Tom Crosby, 64, voted against certifying the results. Their action caused the county to miss a statutory deadline of 20 days.
“The indictment alleges that Judd and Crosby committed two felonies by conspiring to delay the certification of election results and interfering with the secretary of state’s statewide canvass,” NBC News reports. “Both are Class 5 felonies, which can carry prison terms of 6 months to 2½ years.”
Maricopa County’s Republican Committee is crying foul, though, citing numerous laws and precedents in defense of Judd and Crosby. Among these are Senate Resolution 1037, which found that Arizona’s election machines posed security threats; Arizona law that leaves canvassing procedures and timing up to individual counties; and a specific case in Pinal County in which election errors were definitively revealed. They even cite the state constitution.
“Kris Mayes’ prosecution of [Judd and Crosby] is an act of political prosecution common in dictatorships or communist countries,” reads the committee’s resolution. It accuses Mayes of abusing her official power and interfering with the legislative branch.
Both the House and the Senate in Arizona are Republican-controlled. The Legislature is currently on recess and will reconvene on January 8. A copy of the Committee Resolution is here and is also transcribed below.
On Tuesday, December 5, 2023 the Maricopa County Republican Committee Executive Board and all Legislative District Chairs unanimously passed the below resolution:
WHEREAS, the Loyalty Oath of Office taken by all members of County Boards of Supervisors in Arizona requires them to swear to “support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the state of Arizona and defend the U.S. and Arizona against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and [to] faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of their office according to the best of [their] ability, so help me God.”
WHEREAS, We, the Executive Guidance Committee of the Maricopa County Republican Committee, condemn Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ illegitimate political prosecution of the brave elected officials of Cochise County, Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby, for acting in accordance with their oath of office.
WHEREAS, Article 7, Section 12 of the Arizona State Constitution states: “There shall be enacted registration and other laws to secure the purity of elections and guard against abuses of the elective franchise.”
WHEREAS, the Legislature passed Senate Resolution 1037 finding that computerized voting machines used in Arizona were not transparent and contained components manufactured, assembled, or tested in foreign nations like China and thus posed a threat to the security of elections.
WHEREAS, in passing Senate Resolution 1037, the Legislature further cited actual breaches of voting systems and uncured vulnerabilities making voting systems such as those used in Arizona subject to a material risk of manipulation.
WHEREAS, A.R.S. 11-251.3 Powers of the Board, gives the Board of Supervisors the authority to “canvass election returns.”
WHEREAS, A.R.S. 16–622(A) states in relevant part: “The result printed by the vote tabulating equipment, to which have been added write-in and early votes, shall, when certified by the board of supervisors or other officer in charge, constitute the official canvass of each precinct or election district.”
WHEREAS, in enacting A.R.S. 16–622(A), the Legislature expressly left the decision as to “when” to certify any result obtained by the vote tabulating equipment to the discretion of the County Board of Supervisors.
WHEREAS, widespread vote tabulating equipment malfunctions occurred in Maricopa County in the 2022 General Election.
WHEREAS, critical tabulation errors also occurred in Pinal County in the 2022 General Election.
WHEREAS, at the Pinal County canvass meeting, Pinal Supervisor Jeff Serdy expressed concerns of a tabulation error that was rumored to have occurred. Election Director Virginia Ross did not acknowledge these concerns and County Attorney Volkmer stated “I can tell you that I am incredibly confident, as confident as I could possibly be, in the numbers that are being provided to this board.”
WHEREAS, Public records later determined that the Pinal County canvass report was never balanced.
WHEREAS, Pinal County Recorder Dana Lewis notified the AZSOS of the errors in an email prior to the State canvass and alerted them that they had
“some discrepancies.”WHEREAS, issues like those that occurred in Maricopa County and Pinal County raise significant questions about the legitimacy of Kris Mayes’ election as Attorney General in the 2022 General Election, which are still being litigated in the Arizona courts.
WHEREAS, Kris Mayes is using her prosecutorial powers as the Arizona Attorney General to interfere with the County Board of Supervisors’ responsibility and authority to ensure the Peoples’ right to a secure election, that is accurate and free from abuse or manipulation.
WHEREAS, Kris Mayes is abusing her prosecutorial powers as the Arizona Attorney General in bringing charges against Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby and is engaging in a transparent attempt to intimidate all County Supervisors from exercising their duties and authority to ensure the Peoples’ future elections are fair, accurate, and transparent in all aspects.
WHEREAS, Kris Mayes’ actions interfere with the independent powers of the Legislative branch which sets forth the responsibilities and authority of the County Board of Supervisors and thus violates the separation of power vested by the US and the Arizona State Constitutions.
WHEREAS, Kris Mayes’ prosecution of Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby is an act of political prosecution common in dictatorships or communist countries.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that We, the Executive Guidance Committee of the Maricopa County Republican Committee, call upon the Arizona House of Representatives to bring forward impeachment charges against Kris Mayes’ for her grotesque abuse of office, and violation of her oath to Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the state of Arizona.
