The once low-profile certification process has turned into a bitter battle between election officials, Republican candidates and some county boards as the GOP grappled with printer malfunctions in the state’s most populous county, partly leading Arizona to become the focus of voter disenfranchisement complaints . Election officials have acknowledged mishaps but insist no voters were disenfranchised. Some GOP operatives and their supporters claimed the officials were lying, unsuccessfully urging county boards not to certify their canvassers in recent days before turning their anger on Monday’s statewide certification. However, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D), who is now governor-elect, Gov. Doug Ducey (R), state Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) and Arizona Supreme Court Justice Robert Brutinel, they still meet to review last month’s election on Mondays, a schedule mandated by state law. “Arizona had a successful election,” Hobbs said. “But too often throughout the process, powerful voices propagated misinformation that threatened to disenfranchise voters. Democracy has prevailed, but it is not out of the question. 2024 will bring a series of challenges from the election denial community that we must prepare for.” The certification clears the way for automatic recounts to begin in three close races — attorney general, state supervisor and a state seat near Phoenix — and officials signed certificates of election for the other contests. Hobbs’ team will now go before a state judge, who is poised to formally order the three recounts. But Monday’s meeting is also likely to spark multiple GOP-led lawsuits, including gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R), who lost to Hobbs, and attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh (R), who is trailing the challenger of Democrats by the narrowest margin before the automatic recount, they are promising legal action. Under state law, they have five days to formally challenge the results in court. The campaigns of Lake and Hamadeh, as well as other Republicans, criticized Hobbs’ role in signing the certification documents Monday, arguing she had a conflict of interest because she was running for governor. Hobbs’ office pushed back, arguing that the meeting was simply a ministerial act — counties handle and tally the ballots themselves — and noting that Ducey and Brnovich, both Republicans, attended the meeting. Monday’s certification came after all 15 Arizona counties certified their ballots. Republicans have targeted Hobbs’ office for promising to prosecute county officials who failed to meet last week’s legislative deadline for counties to certify. GOP board members in two ruby-red counties — Mohave and Cochise — tried to delay the certification of their ballots. Mohave County supervisors finally did so hours before a statutory deadline last week, and Republicans picked up on board Chairman Ron Gould’s (R) comment that he was told he would be arrested if he didn’t comply with state law, saying that he was only voting to certify “under duress.” In Cochise County, the GOP-controlled board defied a statutory deadline based on an unfounded conspiracy about voting machine certification, prompting lawsuits from Hobbs’ office and an outside group. The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Why Trump Called to End Constitution Tampa Police Chief Resigns After Traffic Stop Investigation A state judge ruled the supervisors’ decision illegal and ordered them to certify the results last Thursday. The next day, Hobbs’ office asked Brnovich, the Arizona attorney general, and Cochise County District Attorney Brian McIntyre to “investigate and take appropriate enforcement action” against the two GOP supervisors who refused to comply with the deadline. McIntyre had refused to represent the supervisors in court, telling them their refusal not to certify was illegal.
