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FACT BRIEF

Does Cochise County, Arizona have explicit legal authority to hand count all the ballots it receives in the 2022 election?

By Jordan Gerard
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NO

Cochise County, Arizona does not have explicit legal authority to hand count all the ballots it receives in the upcoming midterm elections.

“A hand count may only be used if tabulating with certified equipment becomes impracticable,” according to C. Murphy Hebert, a spokesperson for the Arizona Secretary of State's office.

Cochise County supervisors say they will also do a machine count. Even so, Deputy Cochise County Attorney Christine Roberts warned them that they do not have "express authority" to do a full hand count and that attempting to do so would incur lawsuits and a potential loss of state funding.

Other legal issues include that it's against the law to change election procedures this close to an election, conducting a hand count could delay results past certification deadlines, and that vote counters could leak ballot tallies before results are finalized.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Arizona Mirror Hand-counting of ballots in Cochise County deemed illegal
The Arizona Republic Despite warnings of legal consequences, Cochise County supervisors vote for hand count of ballots
Arizona Legislature Proceedings at the counting center
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.