BREAKING: AZAG Mayes Sues Cochise County For Invalid Handover of Elections Duties (READ Complaint)

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced today that her office filed suit against Cochise County over last week's "unqualified handover" of election duties from the Board to County Recorder David Stevens.

She noted that legitimate agreements to share the duties are acceptable, but that this steps "far over the legal line".

The Complaint urges the court to grant an injunction stopping the Feb. 28 agreement, and it attaches both the original draft agreement that the AGO objected to and the amended agreement that passed by a 2-1 vote of the Supervisors.

It also focuses on the Board's promise to pay whatever monies Stevens authorizes, and asks the Court to stop any such payments. 

Although not cited in the Complaint, Stevens has long advocated for placing watermarks, QR codes and other alleged security measures. He has worked with former colleague Mark Finchem and a Texas supplier on those issues, and they helped place a $1M budget line in Arizona's current budget to test them out.

The suit is being filed in Cochise County Superior Court, but is likely to be assigned to a judge in Tucson.

(This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.)

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