Arizona Certification Toolkit 

Election certification is mandatory, on purpose
  • Arizona state law says certification is a mandatory, ministerial duty – meaning that officials have no discretion to refuse to certify election results.
  • It’s not an accident that certification is mandatory. It’s in direct response to past partisan attempts to sabotage certification to change election outcomes – attempts which both lawmakers and the courts recognized as a threat to democracy.
  • Officials who have refused to complete certification of an election – or threatened to do so – fundamentally misunderstand or willfully disregard both their legal obligations and the actual purpose of certification.
Read this toolkit as a PDF

Opportunities to address alleged fraud or errors exist outside the certification process

  • The post-election process leading up to the final canvass includes many steps to ensure that only valid, legal ballots are counted.
  • There are legitimate ways to address potential fraud or error. Delaying the canvass is not one of them. 
  • There are other processes to contest results or administration of an election, including recounts and election contests.

There are two principal ways to address concerns about election fraud or irregularities: election contests and recounts. These can take place only after the county canvass is complete.

Officials may face legal consequences if they refuse to certify

  • Any attempt to interfere with the certification process should be met with an immediate response, as failure to certify is illegal and disruptive.
  • Arizona law and federal law have many safeguards in place to ensure that certification happens, including civil accountability and criminal penalties.  
  • Two Cochise County supervisors who refused to certify the 2022 election have been criminally prosecuted for interfering with the election process.

Additional Resources 

Election Certification

Cochise County

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