Arizona county’s ballot hand-count plan challenged in court

By BOB CHRISTIE
Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona county’s plan to hand count all ballots cast in next week’s election has prompted a court challenge. A lawsuit filed Monday marked the latest twist in the effort in rural Cochise County to mollify skeptics distrustful of its vote-counting equipment. The lawsuit comes as Democrats have agreed to help provide volunteers to assist in the tally of an estimated 50,000 early and Election Day ballots in the Republican-heavy county. Cochise County strongly backed former President Donald Trump in 2020. Hand counts are usually limited to a small percentage of votes, and the lawsuit says counting all ballots by hand is illegal.