Arizona Public Radio | Your Source for NPR News
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Mohave County supervisor wants court to say hand-counting ballots is legal

An election worker in Phoenix holds ballots on Election Day 2022.
Matt York
/
Associated Press
An election worker in Phoenix holds ballots on Election Day 2022.

Mohave County Supervisor Ron Gould says he wants Attorney General Kris Mayes barred for subjecting him to “threats and intimidation” when he advocaed for a hand count of the 2024 election.

In a recent court filing, Gould claims that state law does not specifically forbid a county from opting to hand-tally ballots.

He also alleges most of the board would have given the go-ahead to a hand count if it wasn’t for Mayes.

The Democratic attorney general warned the supervisors in a letter ahead of the vote that authorizing such a count “could result in various felonies and misdemeanor penalties.”

According to the Arizona Capitol Times, Gould says he wants a judge to rule that machine tabulation is optional and that supervisors can choose.

Arizona courts have repeatedly rejected legal claims that tabulating equipment led to incorrect results in the 2022 election.

A date has not been set for the hearing.