Arizona official who delayed 2022 election certification pleads guilty
PHOENIX — One of two rural Arizona supervisors criminally charged for refusing to release 2022 midterm results pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge of failing to perform her duty as an election official.
Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd avoided a possible misdemeanor charge by entering the plea under an agreement reached in Maricopa County Superior Court, where the criminal case was filed. Judd and her attorney did not immediately return emailed requests for additional comment.
Judd and Tom Crosby, her fellow Republican on the three-member board, were indicted last year on charges of conspiracy and interference with an election official after they postponed the election. The council’s third member, Democrat Ann Crosby, had voted to certify the election. Cochise County’s results were ultimately certified after the deadline after a judge ordered Judd and Crosby to perform their legal duties.
“Judd’s official guilty plea represents an important development in securing election integrity in Arizona,” said Thomas Volgy, former mayor of Tucson, Arizona and professor at the University of Arizona, where he specializes in democratic processes. “It should be a loud wake-up call to county elected officials that they cannot tamper with the voting intentions of Arizonans for cheap partisan gain.”
Judd will be sentenced to unsupervised probation for not less than 90 days and pay a fine of up to $500, a spokesperson for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said.
“Any attempt to disrupt the election in Arizona will not be tolerated,” Mayes said in a statement after the plea was filed. “My office will continue to pursue justice and ensure that anyone who undermines our electoral system is held accountable.
“Today’s plea deal and sentencing should serve as a strong reminder that I will not hesitate to use every tool available to uphold the rule of law and protect the integrity of Arizona’s elections,” she added.
Judd and Crosby had attempted to require a manual count of all ballots in the county, amid rampant conspiracy theories about the integrity of the vote and chaotic public hearings that dragged on for hours. They also expressed doubts about the accuracy of the vote tabulation machines. The Republicans lost the elections for governor and attorney general to the Democrats in November 2022.
Crosby is still scheduled to appear in court in January and is running for re-election in November. Judd didn’t want to be re-elected. He did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment on Judd’s plea.
Arizona was once reliably Republican, but Democrats have gained increasing influence in recent years, especially in urban areas like Phoenix, which has become one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. as people from other states move to live in growing numbers jobs.