100% ballot hand-count blocked; Arizona county plowing ahead

By BOB CHRISTIE
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — The board of supervisors in a southern Arizona county will meet next week to consider counting nearly all the ballots cast in-person on Election Day. The action comes despite an earlier court order limiting the hand-count driven by unfounded distrust in machines that tabulate votes. The actual count may start before Tuesday’s planned meeting of the Cochise County board. The local prosecutor is warning that starting it at any time may lead to criminal charges. The moves come just days after a judge ruled that state law bars expanding the normal small hand-count audit of early ballots. He also ruled that a 100% hand-count of Election Day ballots is illegal because any expansion for precincts chosen for those reviews must be picked at random.