Arizona Mohave County Hand Count Challenge

Lawsuit filed on behalf of Mohave County Supervisor Ron Gould (in his individual capacity) against Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D). The lawsuit alleges that a letter Mayes sent to the Mohave County Board “influenced the voting process and ultimate vote” and “threatened” the plaintiff in violation of Arizona law. 

On Nov. 19, 2023, Mayes sent a letter to the board informing the board that voting to hand count ballots would violate Arizona law. The board ultimately voted 3-2 to not hand count ballots. In this lawsuit, one of the supervisors alleges that Mayes intimidated and threatened the board and ultimately changed the outcome of the vote. The plaintiff claims that this action violated Arizona law and requests that the court declare that using voting machines rather than hand counting is optional not mandatory. The plaintiff also asks the court to order that a court’s finding in a separate case, only applies to conducting a full hand count audit (a hand count of ballots after a voting machine counts them) and therefore does not apply to conducting a full hand count (where an initial count would be done without a tabulator).  

Pro-democracy groups filed a motion to intervene to prevent hand counting.

On Sept. 10, 2024, the judge granted the attorney general’s motion to dismiss this case. The plaintiff appealed the decision on Oct. 7, 2024.

On Nov. 6. 2025, the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed the superior court’s dismissal. The court reaffirmed that Arizona’s election laws require ballots to be counted using certified machines, rejecting efforts to force full hand counts that are less accurate and more vulnerable to error.

RESULT: On Dec. 8, 2025, Mohave County Supervisor Gould asked the Arizona Supreme Court to review the case. On Mar. 27, 2026, the court denied review.

Last updated: March 27, 2026 7:41 pm EST