Deep-red Arizona county 'may go to court without an attorney' in election certification dispute: report

Cochise County, a deep-red county in Arizona that has refused to certify its vote tallies in the 2022 elections, is being hauled into court and it may not even have a lawyer there to defend it.

The Arizona Republic reports that Cochise County officials this week were caught "flat footed" when the attorney they announced would represent them in court this week declined to appear in court on their behalf.

Making matters worse, the newspaper writes, the attorney that he recommended to the county as an alternative also turned down their offer.

The Cochise County officials are due in court this afternoon, as Governor-elect Katie Hobbs has demanded that they certify their results, which were supposed to have been certified by this past Monday.

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The officials' refusal to certify the election results comes amid pressure from the campaign of failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who has refused to concede her race and who has accused Hobbs of fraudulently stealing the election from her.

So far, Lake has provided no evidence to back up that claim, and the state's largest county, Maricopa County, voted to certify its election results this week over her objections.