PHOENIX — Lawyers for the Arizona Secretary of State's Office have asked to delay presenting the results of recounts done for three election races that were too close to call following the state's general election in November.
The candidates for attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, and Legislative District 13 didn't earn enough votes to surpass Arizona's threshold for triggering an automatic recount.
The results were scheduled to be presented during a court hearing on Dec. 22 but Katie Hobbs' office is requesting more time to prepare the results, according to a motion recently filed by lawyers representing the agency.
"The Secretary has still not received final results from all of the counties, and once she receives them, her Office must have sufficient time to complete all necessary reconciliations and checks of the final numbers to ensure their accuracy," the motion states.
Pinal County was the only county to have not yet submitted results as of Monday, according to the Secretary of State's website. All counties must submit results before the secretary will provide them to the court.
Lawyers for Secretary Hobbs noted how the continuance is also needed since they're in the midst of litigating election challenges filed by Republicans Kari Lake and Abe Hamadeh. Lake is challenging her loss to Hobbs in the governor's race.
Online court records show the continuance was granted and the hearing has been rescheduled to take place on Dec. 29 in Maricopa County Superior Court.
The Secretary of State's Office explains the process of conducting automatic recounts below:
"The respective election official will program the tabulation equipment to only tabulate the designated contest. Prior to tabulation, the equipment must again pass logic and accuracy testing to ensure that it is accurately tabulating votes. Once the results have been tabulated, and if the political parties request it, a hand count audit may occur. Upon completion, the elections officer will provide the results to the court, and the judge will announce the winner."
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on our 12News YouTube playlist here.
