Cochise County Election Fallout: Why Arizona Officials Face Criminal Conspiracy Indictments

Everything you need to know about Cochise County Election Fallout: Why Arizona Officials Face Criminal Conspiracy Indictments, including in-depth facts.

The refusal prompted immediate, decisive legal action from state election authorities and voting rights organizations. Then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs sued the board, securing an emergency court order from Pima County Superior Court Judge Casey McGinley. Judge McGinley ruled that the board possessed zero discretionary authority to delay the count, declaring that supervisors hold a purely ministerial obligation to canvass the figures accurately recorded by the county elections director.

Facing a direct order backed by the threat of contempt, Judd relented during an emergency session on December 1, 2022, joining English to certify the results. Crosby abstained by refusing to attend the meeting. While the immediate administrative crisis resolved, the political and legal consequences were just starting to take shape behind closed grand jury doors in Phoenix.

In November 2023, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office revealed an indictment charging both Judd and Crosby with two class 5 felonies: conspiracy and interference with an election officer. The state alleged that the pair deliberately worked together to impede the lawful delivery of county canvass records to the state, turning an administrative maneuver into a criminal conspiracy.