Arizona Election Official Pleads Guilty to 2022 Election Subversion Scheme

USA and Arizona flags against blue sky backdrop. (AdobeStock)

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) announced Monday that a Cochise County, Arizona election official pleaded guilty for refusing to certify the 2022 general election.

During the 2022 midterm election, Republican Cochise County supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby refused to certify their county’s election results, preventing the full board of supervisors from canvassing the election within the time period required by Arizona law. Their refusal to certify thereby prevented the transmission of the county’s election returns in time to the office of Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) to be included in the statewide election canvass. 

A series of lawsuits prevented Judd and Crosby from conducting a full hand-count audit of every mail-in ballot and ensured that the election was certified

In November of 2023, Judd and Crosby were both indicted by Mayes for their refusal to certify the election. The indictment charged the supervisors with two felonies for interference with an election and conspiracy. Under Judd’s plea deal, she acknowledged that she failed to canvass the Cochise County election results as required by law and plead guilty to Failure or Refusal to Perform Duty by an Election Officer, a misdemeanor that comes with a 90-day sentence of unsupervised probation and a $500 fine.

Mayes’ office did not announce if Crosby also pleaded guilty, but a trial is scheduled for January of 2025. 

“Any attempt to interfere with elections in Arizona will not be tolerated. My office will continue to pursue justice and ensure that anyone who undermines our electoral system is held accountable,” Mayes said in a statement. “Today’s plea agreement and sentencing should serve as a strong reminder that I will not hesitate to use every tool available to uphold the rule of law and protect the integrity of Arizona’s elections.”

Read the full statement here. 

Read the original indictment here.