Cochise County supervisor pleads guilty to delaying election results

Republican Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd has pleaded guilty and will be on probation for 90 days in a case stemming from efforts to delay the certification of 2022 votes.

Judd, 62, pleaded guilty Monday to one misdemeanor count of failure or refusal to perform duties by an election official. Initially charged with felonies, Judd pleaded guilty to the lesser charge as part of a deal with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

The probation period intentionally covers the Nov. 5 election and certification of the results, Assistant Attorney General Todd Lawson told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Fish. Certification of election results in Arizona includes a poll that counts vote totals.

“The State requested this term so that it would be clear that if there is a failure to conduct this election, it would constitute a failure to comply with all laws, and the State would intend to initiate judicial review proceedings. violation of probation if that were to happen,” Lawson said during a roughly 15-minute hearing. “Obviously Ms. Judd is indicating that’s not going to happen, but what’s essentially hanging over her is a promise that if she doesn’t act, there will be consequences.”

Judd did not make a statement on his behalf during the hearing. She will also have to pay fees, including a $550 fine, to the attorney general’s anti-racketeering fund. Her attorney, Kurt Altman, told the judge that Judd was “about to retire, go on a mission and put this behind her.”

Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat elected in 2022, has pledged to use her office to combat threats to election workers and election processes. Arizona has remained a hotbed of election conspiracies since the 2020 defeat of Republican President Donald Trump.

“My office will continue to seek justice and ensure that anyone who undermines our election system is held accountable,” Mayes said in a statement. “Today’s plea agreement and sentencing should serve as a powerful reminder that I will not hesitate to use every tool available to uphold the rule of law and protect the integrity of elections in Arizona.

Judd and Supervisor Tom Crosby were each indicted in November on counts of conspiracy and interference with an election official. Those charges against Judd were dismissed as part of his plea deal.

The indictment against them alleged that Judd and Crosby conspired together to try to delay the holding of the November 2022 statewide election. Both pleaded not guilty in December.

The charges were Class 5 felonies, the second least serious felony under Arizona law. Convictions carry a prison sentence of up to 2 1/2 years and a fine of $150,000.

Crosby and Judd voted to delay the certification of the county’s votes, also known as the Arizona poll. Despite warnings that any delay would be a violation of state law, they said they wanted time to hear the evidence about the voting machines and whether they were properly certified.

The supervisors were quickly sued, including by then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat and the state’s top election official. The supervisors ultimately met to certify the election result by court order, just days before the statewide vote. Judd voted for certification, but Crosby did not run.

Judd is not running for re-election to the three-person Board of Supervisors this year. Crosby is on the ballot to run for another term.

Contact reporter Stacey Barchenger at [email protected] or 480-416-5669.

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