As counties across the country are exploring the possibility of hand counting ballots during future elections to eliminate the potential for voter fraud, a county in Arizona rejected a hand count proposal this week. The all-Republican Mohave County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday, Aug. 1, against adopting a hand count.

The vote came after Deputy County Attorney Ryan Esplin expressed concern about the legality of instituting a hand count. The county conducted a test hand count in June, where workers made errors affecting 46 different races while counting 850 ballots.

According to Mohave County Elections Director Allen Tempert, hand counting ballots for upcoming elections would require hiring more than 245 new workers. This would cost the county about $1.1 million.

“I’m willing to have further conversations about this, but the first thing that we have to do in Mohave County in good conscience is to balance the budget,” Board Chair Travis Lingenfelter said during the meeting where the Arizona hand count proposal was considered. “You can’t talk about any other spending when you have $18-20 million deficit … that’s irresponsible.”

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This is not the only attempt to introduce a hand count that has been stymied. Prior to the 2022 general election, Cochise County, Arizona, pursued a hand count before it was stopped by a judge. A similar effort in Nye County, Nevada, was also subject to litigation in 2022.

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