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Despite warnings by election experts that hand counting is less
reliable, could delay results and is more expensive than machine
tallies, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors in rural
southeastern Arizona voted 2-1 on Monday to count ballots in
November's elections by hand.
The county will also count ballots by machine, but experts
warned that a hand count could delay results of the Nov. 8
election and raises the prospect of two different vote totals,
something they say could further undermine faith in the U.S.
election system.
Backers of Republican former President Donald Trump's false
claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him have been
pushing for hand counts, incorrectly claiming that voting
machines were manipulated to allow Democrat Joe Biden to
narrowly win Arizona and other swing states.
The Republican candidates for governor, secretary of state and
attorney general in Arizona this year all back Trump's election
conspiracy theories and are in favor of hand counts.
The two Republicans on the three-member County Board of
Supervisors in Cochise County voted in favor of the hand count
move, while the Democratic chairwoman voted against the measure.
(Reporting by Tim Reid; editing by Ross Colvin and Jonathan
Oatis)
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