In 2022, Cochise County Republicans On The Board Of Supervisors, Including County Supervisor Tom Crosby, Refused To Certify General Election Results, Which Led To The County Being Sued.
The Cochise County Board Of Supervisors Threatened To “Refuse To Canvass And Certify The Results Of The 2022 Election.” “Voters − not elected politicians − decide the outcome of elections in this country. But in Cochise County, the board of supervisors is ignoring this bedrock principle of American democracy by threatening to refuse to canvass and certify the results of the 2022 election. The board’s refusal to do its job would not only be illegal − it could also lead to the complete disenfranchisement of the county’s voters and potentially change the outcome in key races with thin margins.” [AZ Central, 11/27/22]
Tom Crosby Was One Of Two Republican Supervisors On The Three-Person Board Of Supervisors In Cochise County Refusing To Certify The 2022 General Election Results. “Organizers of an effort to remove a rural Arizona county supervisor for skepticism over the results of last year’s election announced that they have fallen short of the legal requirement to proceed with a recall effort that would have given voters the option of removing him from office. [...] Crosby is one of two Republican supervisors on the three-member board who refused to certify the 2022 election in the county. They pushed for hand counting ballots instead of relying on more accurate voting machines and gave oversight of elections to the county’s elected Republican recorder instead of nonpartisan staff.” [AP, 5/4/23]
If Cochise County Refused To Certify Their Election Results And Include Their Heavily Republican Votes, This Could Have Resulted In “In Flipping The Final Results In A Number Of Tight Races, With Republican Candidates And Voters Paying The Price.” “But in the unlikely event that the courts didn’t intervene, the board’s gambit would only hurt the voters of Cochise County and the candidates that they support. If the board has still refused to certify by the Dec. 5 deadline for state certification (which can be extended to Dec. 8, but no later), the law requires that the secretary of state still move ahead with the statewide canvass of results. In that case, the statewide canvass would not include the results from Cochise County, which is heavily Republican. This mass disenfranchisement of Cochise County voters − at the hands of their own board of supervisors − could result in flipping the final results in a number of tight races, with Republican candidates and voters paying the price. For example, Republican Juan Ciscomani would likely lose his congressional race to Democrat Kirsten Engel.” [AZ Central, 11/27/22]
In 2022, Crosby And Another Official In Cochise County Attempted To Interfere With The 2020 General Election In Cochise County Arizona, Causing The County To Be Sued For Violating Election Law. “From a rural, scenic corner of southeastern Arizona, the two Republican supervisors have tried to throw sand in the gears of the election process, from an attempt last month to hand count every ballot cast to deliberately missing the deadline to certify election results. For their efforts, they and the county have been sued for violating election law.” [Azcentral.com, The Arizona Republic, accessed 6/23/23]
In May 2023, The Committee to Recall Tom Crosby From His Role As Cochise County Supervisor Failed After It “Could Not Get The Required Number Of Signatures” For Its Petition Before The Deadline. “Efforts to recall Cochise County Supervisor Tom Crosby failed after petitioners could not get the required number of signatures before the deadline. The Committee to Recall Tom Crosby spent months trying to collect enough signatures to trigger a recall election and needed just 565 more to meet the 4,865-signature requirement.” [AZ Central, 5/4/23]
Efforts To Recall Crosby Began In January 2023 After He And County Supervisor Peggy Judd Refused To Certify The Results From The November 2022 General Election. “The recall efforts, which began in January, were led by the Committee to Recall Tom Crosby, a nonpartisan group, that had 120 days to collect the required number of signatures from voters in District 1, Crosby’s district. [...] The campaign and its supporters said Crosby, a former U.S. Border Patrol agent and Sierra Vista City councilmember, broke his oath of office when he and county Supervisor Peggy Judd risked disenfranchising Cochise County voters by refusing to certify the results from the November General Election.” [AZ Central, 5/4/23]
In October 2023, Crosby And Fellow Supervisor Peggy Judd Were Subpoenaed By The Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Seemingly About Their “Refusal To Certify The Election, Along With Their Push To Hand-Count All Ballots.”
Votebeat: “Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes Is Investigating Two Cochise County Supervisors Who Refused To Certify The County’s Midterm Election Results By The State-Required Deadline,” Including Tom Crosby, Who Was Subpoenaed And Ordered “To Appear Before The State Grand Jury On Nov. 13.” “Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is investigating two Cochise County supervisors who refused to certify the county’s midterm election results by the state-required deadline. Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd, both Republicans, were served subpoenas last week by Mayes’ office explaining that they are under investigation and ordering them to appear before the state grand jury on Nov. 13, according to a Votebeat review of Judd’s subpoena and a Herald Review report of Crosby’s subpoena. Judd’s subpoena has not been previously reported.” [Votebeat, 10/30/23]
While Crosby’s Subpoena Did “Not Specify The Criminal Violations That The Office Is Investigating,” Another County Supervisor Was Asked “About Crosby And Judd’s Refusal To Certify The Election, Along With Their Push To Hand-Count All Ballots.” “Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd, both Republicans, were served subpoenas last week by Mayes’ office [...] The subpoenas do not specify the criminal violations that the office is investigating. But Cochise County Supervisor Ann English, the third member of the three-member board and the only Democrat, told Votebeat that she was interviewed Tuesday by an investigator from Mayes’ office who asked her about Crosby and Judd’s refusal to certify the election, along with their push to hand-count all ballots during the county’s post-election audit.” [Votebeat, 10/30/23]
Cochise County Settled A Lawsuit “In The Wake Of Crosby And Judd’s Decisions” From An Employee “Who Left Because Of A Toxic Work Environment Caused By The Two Supervisors” And The County’s Insurance Paid Out $130,000 With Other Legal Fees Totaling Nearly $170,000.
The Guardian: “The Republican-Led County On The US-Mexico Border Has Had To Pay Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars In Legal Fees And Settlements For The Lawsuits It Faced In The Wake Of Crosby And Judd’s Decisions.” “Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby, the two Republican supervisors in Cochise county who led these efforts, were recently subpoenaed as part of an investigation by the state’s attorney general. The Republican-led county on the US-Mexico border has had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and settlements for the lawsuits it faced in the wake of Crosby and Judd’s decisions. They have lost in court multiple times in their quest to prevent machine counting – part of an ongoing rightwing effort to switch to hand counts – and stall election results.” [The Guardian, 11/25/23]
The Guardian: “To Settle A Lawsuit From The Former Director Lisa Marra, Who Left Because Of A Toxic Work Environment Caused By The Two Supervisors, The County’s Insurance Paid Out $130,000,” And Other Legal Fees “Have Totaled Nearly $170,000.” “To settle a lawsuit from the former director Lisa Marra, who left because of a toxic work environment caused by the two supervisors, the county’s insurance paid out $130,000. Other legal fees, primarily in the form of paying the costs of the other side’s attorneys in losses, have totaled nearly $170,000.” [The Guardian, 11/25/23]
Crosby Posted On A Rightwing Crowdfunding Site To Raise $100,000 For His Legal Defense And Alleged That The Subpoena “Is Almost A Guaranteed Indictment.”
The Guardian: “In A Post On The Rightwing Crowdfunding Site Givesendgo, Crosby Sought Donations To Defend Himself. He Has Raised Nearly $3,000 With A Goal Of $100,000” And Alleged That The Subpoena “Is Almost A Guaranteed Indictment.” “In a post on the rightwing crowdfunding site GiveSendGo, Crosby sought donations to defend himself. He has raised nearly $3,000 with a goal of $100,000. ‘I have been an elections integrity proponent since before it became popular,’ he wrote. ‘I have heard that a grand jury subpeona [sic] is almost a guaranteed indictment. If that is the case, I would expect to go to trial, and be stuck with tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars of court costs and legal fees. If my legal adversary is successful in defeating me, it will intimidate other AZ County Supervisors into falling in line with the globalist plans of compromised elections, and forced use of voting machines.’” [The Guardian, 11/25/23]
In November 2023, Crosby And Fellow Supervisor Judd Were Indicted For Two Felonies, “Conspiracy And Interference With An Election Officer,” Which Are “The First Criminal Charges Filed Over A Refusal To Certify An Election.”
Votebeat: “Attorney General Kris Mayes On Wednesday Announced That An Arizona Grand Jury Has Indicted Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby And Peggy Judd For Conspiracy And Interference With An Election Officer, Both Felonies.” “Attorney General Kris Mayes on Wednesday announced that an Arizona grand jury has indicted Cochise County Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd for conspiracy and interference with an election officer, both felonies. The Nov. 27 indictments in Maricopa County Superior Court came after the supervisors were ordered to appear at a state grand jury hearing on Nov. 13, under subpoenas issued by Mayes’ office in October. Judd’s subpoena was first reported by Votebeat.” [Votebeat, 11/29/23]
Votebeat: “The Indictment Alleges That On Or Between Oct. 11, 2022 And Dec. 1, 2022, Judd And Crosby ‘Conspired To Delay The Canvass Of Votes Cast.’” “The indictment alleges that on or between Oct. 11, 2022 and Dec. 1, 2022, Judd and Crosby “conspired to delay the canvass of votes cast” and “knowingly interfered with the Arizona Secretary of State’s ability to complete the statewide canvass,” according to a news release from the Attorney General’s Office.” [Votebeat, 11/29/23]
NYT: “The Cochise Indictments Are The First Criminal Charges Filed Over A Refusal To Certify An Election.” “Although local Republican officials interfering with election systems in other states since 2020 have faced criminal indictments on other grounds, the Cochise indictments are the first criminal charges filed over a refusal to certify an election.” [The New York Times, 11/29/23]
Arizona Attorney General Mayes Said Of Crosby’s Indictment That “The Repeated Attempts To Undermine Our Democracy Are Unacceptable.”
Arizona Attorney General Mayes Said Of Crosby’s Indictment For Felony Offenses Of Interference With An Election Officer And Conspiracy That “The Repeated Attempts To Undermine Our Democracy Are Unacceptable.” “Attorney General Kris Mayes today announced that the State Grand Jury has returned an indictment charging Peggy Suzanne Judd, age 61, of Willcox, and Terry Thomas “Tom” Crosby, age 64, of Sierra Vista with the felony offenses of Interference with an Election Officer and Conspiracy. ‘The repeated attempts to undermine our democracy are unacceptable,’ said Attorney General Mayes. ‘I took an oath to uphold the rule of law, and my office will continue to enforce Arizona’s elections laws and support our election officials as they carry out the duties and responsibilities of their offices.’” [Office of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, 11/29/23]