By Charles Homans
An official affiliated with the Republican Party in Arizona, who postponed the certification of the 2022 election, admitted guilt earlier this week to a misdemeanor count of neglecting or refusing to fulfill her role as an election officer.
Peggy Judd, the official in question, had expressed apprehensions regarding voting machines while delaying the validation of ballots in Cochise County. Her situation drew national media attention as a prominent illustration of the politicization of the electoral process following former President Donald Trump’s attempts to reverse his 2020 defeat.
A more serious felony accusation, involving conspiracy, was dismissed. Prosecutors are advocating for a sentence of 90 days of probation, which would coincide with the validation of this year’s presidential election.
Kris Mayes, the attorney general of the state, remarked in a statement that the outcome of the case “ought to act as a significant reminder that I will not hesitate to utilize every resource at my disposal to uphold the law and safeguard the integrity of elections in Arizona.”
In a Monday interview, Judd expressed that she was “content with what transpired today.”
“I needed closure,” she stated. “I can live my life again.” However, she insisted that “I should not have been in that courtroom,” expressing concern about the implications her prosecution could have on other officials responsible for certifying voting outcomes.
“People might think, ‘I should certify the election regardless,’ and that poses a problem,” she commented. “We need to vote on matters we don’t fully comprehend or endorse.”
Judd and Tom Crosby, both Republican supervisors from Cochise County, faced indictment last November due to their attempts to delay the certification of the 2022 election results in their predominantly Republican county. (The county’s third supervisor, a Democrat, opposed the delay and faced no charges.) They referenced various claims brought forth by right-wing conspiracy advocates and demanded a manual count of the ballots.
In a 2022 discussion with The New York Times, Judd conceded that she did not believe the electoral outcomes in her county were uncertain and characterized her actions as a protest against the certification of results in the state’s larger urban areas, which tend to lean Democratic. Ultimately, Judd voted in favor of certifying the election after a Superior Court order required her to do so, whereas Crosby did not.
These indictments represented the only criminal charges in the nation related to a refusal to certify an election, a phenomenon that Republican officials in numerous counties nationwide have contemplated or enacted since Trump’s attempts to challenge his 2020 election defeat.
Charges remain pending against Crosby, who has also pleaded not guilty. He was unavailable for comment.
