Judge orders Cochise board to send county election results to state - The Arizona Republic

The Cochise County Board of Supervisors indispensable conscionable astatine 3:30 p.m. connected Thursday and canvass the results of the Nov. 8 election, a justice ruled, reprimanding the committee for its nonaccomplishment to fulfill the work to bash truthful earlier this week.

Pima County Superior Court Judge Casey McGinley directed the committee to taxable the canvass to the Arizona caput of authorities by 5 p.m.

His bid came aft a proceeding that lasted little than a fractional hr and proceeded without an lawyer representing the board.

McGinley rejected Supervisor Tom Crosby's petition to proceed the proceeding until Tuesday truthful the board's lawyer — hired 2 hours earlier the proceeding — could "get up to speed."

The supervisors recovered a lawyer and voted 2-1 to prosecute him 2 hours earlier a scheduled tribunal proceeding implicit their determination not to certify results of the Nov. 8 election.

Their vote, astatine the extremity of an astir seven-minute exigency meeting, authorized the region head to declaration with McCauley Law Offices PLC of Cave Creek and its owner, Daniel McCauley.

Democrat Supervisor Ann English voted against the action, saying it was "too little, excessively late" to prosecute a lawyer truthful adjacent to the proceeding who was not acquainted with the case.

She said she antecedently hoped to person ineligible representation, but hiring a lawyer truthful precocious fundamentally lone would let a lawyer to spell to tribunal and inquire for a continuance, which she said was not successful the county's champion interest.

But GOP supervisors Crosby and Peggy Judd approved the hiring. Neither had overmuch to accidental astir English's comments.

"I can’t talk. It hurts," Judd said. "But yeah. I’m OK with doing it. I consciousness it’s amended than doing nothing. Sorry. We did enactment beauteous hard to effort to fig that retired erstwhile Mr. Blehm wasn’t available."

The supervisors connected Tuesday voted to prosecute lawyer Bryan Blehm to support them and the region authorities against 2 lawsuits, adjacent though they had not discussed the substance with him. On Wednesday, they were caught flat-footed erstwhile Blehm declined the offer, arsenic did different lawyer helium had recommended.

The 3 supervisors were contiguous successful a Bisbee courtroom arsenic McGinley considered requests from Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, arsenic good arsenic a retiree group, to bid the committee to certify predetermination results. That certification, by law, was owed Monday. But connected a 2-1 vote, the committee voted to hold a determination until week's end.

Board chairwoman English, who dissented from the question to delay, said she volition beryllium successful court, arsenic she was subpoenaed to appear. Judd and Crosby voted successful favour of a hold until they tin convene a peculiar gathering Friday.

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"It would beryllium my privation that we astatine slightest would person an lawyer to correspond the county," English said, somewhat wistfully, connected Wednesday. She said she told region administrators to inquire Crosby and Judd for further lawyer recommendations, since those 2 are the ones that person chosen to disregard authorities instrumentality and triggered the lawsuits.

The region besides was deed with a assertion seeking $25,000 successful damages for the board's inaction connected certification. Paul Sivertsen, a Cochise County resident, said the board's nonaccomplishment to certify dismissed his ballot and disenfranchised his rights arsenic a voter.

Hobbs has said if Cochise does not taxable its certification successful clip for Monday's statewide canvass, the county's 47,000 votes volition not beryllium counted. A tribunal bid could avert that scenario.

Sivertsen is seeking the compensation because, helium said successful a quality release, helium believes monetary fines are the lone mode to forestall "future anti-democratic and unlawful maneuvers."

He besides suggested the assertion could beryllium the opening salvo successful an effort to record a class-action lawsuit.

The lawsuits brought by Hobbs and the Arizona Alliance of Retired Americans were heard successful Cochise County Superior Court successful Bisbee by McGinley, who connected Nov. 7 ruled that the committee had breached the instrumentality by pursuing a 100% manus number of each ballot formed successful the Nov. 8 election.

Reach the newsman at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and travel her connected Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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