Such a hand count is illegal under Arizona law, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has said, and revives a dispute that could lead to a lawsuit.
However, Supervisor Peggy Judd said the county got an OK on its plan from Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich's office and dismissed the board attorney's opinion.Hobbs' office, in a statement to The Arizona Republic, reiterated its objection to the full hand count and called the action"wildly irresponsible."
Hobbs' office earlier this week said it would sue if Cochise County went ahead with a full hand count; on Friday, it said a lawsuit is possible.“It would simply be an audit to verify the effectiveness ," she said. She added she is praying for an exact match, but did not address what would happen if there isn't one.
Elections experts have said hand counting is less reliable than machine tabulation and is prone to human error. Earlier this week, a ballot hand count underway in Nye County, Nevada, was halted after the state Supreme Court ruled the process violated a law that forbids making election results public before the election is concluded.There's another way the hand count could halt: if the county Democratic Party chairperson refuses to provide volunteers to do the bipartisan count. State law says no more than 75% of the ballot counters can be from one party.