The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office successfully conducted the required Logic and Accuracy testing of the Cochise County Elections Department central tabulation equipment. Testing was mandated prior to starting the recount of the General Election by a court order issued yesterday in Maricopa County Superior Court after being filed by the Secretary of State.
WHY DID THE SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE TEST COCHISE COUNTY’S TABULATION EQUIPMENT?
After an automatic recount is ordered by the courts, the county must reprogram and test tabulation equipment to tally only the recounted contests. All ballots will be recounted using the same machines utilized in the actual election. If a federal, statewide, or legislative contest is recounted, state law also requires county political parties conduct a 2 percent hand count audit of the ballots cast for the recounted races.
WHAT IS A RECOUNT?
Recounts are a re-tabulation of the votes cast in a Primary or General Election. In Arizona, recounts are automatically triggered when the margin between two candidates or a contest is separated by 0.5 percent or less. The recount begins after the election is certified.
WHICH ARIZONA CONTESTS ARE SUBJECT TO A RECOUNT IN THE 2022 GENERAL ELECTION?
There are two statewide contests within the 0.5 percent margin — Arizona Attorney General and Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. Find election results for the state here.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Cochise County will start recounting the 47,284 ballots cast on Wednesday, December 7 and forecasts the process will complete on December 16 after the political party hand count audit. The tabulation of the ballots may be reviewed online by the public here. The court order requires the recount finish by December 21.
Arizona law prohibits the publication of results during a recount. Counties must provide the sealed results to the Secretary of State, who will provide the results to the Judge who affirms the winner of the recounted contests in court.
The Secretary of State will provide updates of the process online daily here for the public to follow. The results of the races and hand count audit will be posted on the County website after being accepted by the Court. No canvass of the recounted results is required under Arizona law.
Original source can be found here.
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