Mohave County decides against hand-counting all ballots in 2024 election
MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. - The Mohave County Board of Supervisors voted ‘no’ on Nov. 20 to hand count ballots in the 2024 election.
The board, which consists of all Republicans, voted 3-2 to not to a hand count. The Deputy County Attorney made strong arguments against pursuing the hand count because of the cost and time associated with a hand count of what is estimated to be close to 100,000 votes. The effort was estimated to cost taxpayers $1.1 million, at a time the county is dealing with an $18 million budget deficit.
The Deputy County Attorney also referenced the issues Cochise County Supervisors are still dealing with, following a county-mandated hand count of votes in the 2022 elections. In addition, the Deputy County Attorney said he is cautious of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes' threat to pursue legal action, after the AG released a statement on the matter, stating that authorizing a hand count would be a violation of Arizona law.
The argument put forth by the Deputy County Attorney appeared to hold weight with some of the board members, one of whom said the burden would be on taxpayers to foot the bill before he voted no.
The meeting – the second public one on this topic – took about two hours to get through the public comments segment, with the board telling both sides to keep order on multiple occasions.
"Hand counting is absolutely preferable to machines, in my opinion," said one person. "We've seen what's happened. Handled legally and correctly, the only way to ensure a legal and accurate vote count is with humans at the helm."
"Humans make mistakes," said another person. "That's why, at the end of every election before, you get the results to certify. A canvass is done. I've [taken part] in that, and it was eye-opening to me."
Following the vote, AG Mayes released a statement applauding the decision, saying she is relieved with the decision, which avoids legal complications.