Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes has filed a lawsuit against the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, claiming that the board overstepped its authority by delegating election duties almost entirely to the county recorder.
“Suing other public officials is not something I take lightly—but it is my job as attorney general to bring action when public officials unlawfully exercise their power or act outside the confines of their authority,” Mayes announced in a March 7 statement.
“The agreement is essentially an unqualified handover from the board to the recorder, not one that would allow both entities to work hand in hand to fulfill their statutory duties openly and transparently.”
The suit names as defendants the board’s three members—chairwoman Ann English, vice-chairwoman Peggy Judd, and Tom Crosby—and David Stevens in his capacity as county recorder.
The 19-page document claims, among other things, that in adopting the agreement Stevens “aggrandized his power” and the board “unlawfully and almost completely offloaded the statutory duties over elections.”
“In addition to this broad transfer of power, I am deeply concerned this move might shield or obscure actions and deliberations the board would typically conduct publicly under open meeting law,” she said.
The board voted 2–1 in favor of the one-year agreement, signed on Feb. 28, in which the board and recorder agreed to combine all election functions under one department to promote efficiency, cost savings, and public confidence.
English cast the lone dissenting vote, saying that the board was “acting in an inappropriate and unadvised fashion,” according to the attorney general’s lawsuit.
Under the pact, the recorder would be responsible for all election functions, including oversight of election workers, voter registration, and early voting.
‘Serious’ Concerns
“In shifting all election duties to the recorder—a distinct constitutional county officer—the agreement says not a word about how or whether the public may still have access to deliberations on matters that the board would normally consider in open meetings,” the complaint reads.“Without legislative authorization, a county body or officer may not give away its statutory powers or duties to another constitutionally established county body or officer, nor may it obtain the duties of another public body or officer or ‘assume power not conferred by statute.’”
On Feb. 27, the attorney general’s office sent a letter to the Cochise County attorney expressing “serious” concerns over the agreement’s legality.
“Cochise County did not provide any legal authority in response,” the lawsuit reads.
“In both cases, the board and recorder ceased their unlawful conduct only after a court ordered them to do so.”
Judd and Crosby didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
English told The Epoch Times in an email that as a defendant in the lawsuit, “it would be inappropriate” for her to comment at this time.
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