Arizona county official who delayed certifying election results accepts plea deal

PHOENIX — An Arizona Republican who helped inspire national concerns over county-level certification of the 2024 presidential election pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge Monday related to a “failure or refusal� to perform her duty.

Peggy Judd, who helps lead Cochise County southeast of Phoenix, was indicted by a state grand jury a year ago for allegedly flouting the stateâ€s deadlines to formally accept the results of the 2022 midterm general election. Judd and another Republican supervisor, Thomas Crosby, were charged with conspiracy and interfering with an election officer after an investigation by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D). Both supervisors initially pleaded not guilty.

In a plea agreement signed by Judd, she acknowledged that she “knowingly� refused to perform her duty to certify the election results by Nov. 28, 2022: “I voted to delay the canvass during a public Cochise County Board of Supervisors meeting. I knew that the canvass would be delayed if one other supervisor voted with me.�

Judd sat next to her attorney in a courtroom in downtown Phoenix as a county judge walked her through the details of her agreement. Her voice shook as she spoke her name into a microphone, telling the judge, “Iâ€m a little nervous.â€�

State prosecutors asked that Judd serve unsupervised probation for 90 days, a period that extends through the certification process for the upcoming presidential election.

“If there is a failure to canvass this election,â€� prosecutor Todd Lawson said, the attorney generalâ€s office could ask the court to revisit Juddâ€s arrangement. “Thatâ€s what essentially hangs over her,â€� Lawson said.

Juddâ€s attorney, Kurt Altman, told the judge that the supervisor, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wants to finish her term as a supervisor, “Go on a mission and put this behind her.â€�

Juddâ€s plea, which she entered in Maricopa County Superior Court, comes as election officials around the nation remain deeply concerned about similar efforts to try to delay or derail the outcome of the 2024 presidential election by trying to disrupt certification at the local level.

The effort in Cochise County two years ago failed, and the indictments that followed last November marked a rare example of possible criminal consequences for elected officials who test the limits of their authority on election-related duties. In Arizona, where election-related conspiracies took hold after Donald Trumpâ€s 2020 defeat in the state, several other county supervisors flirted with blocking certification of their countyâ€s outcomes during the midterm election. In Cochise, Judd and Crosby repeatedly delayed certifying their countyâ€s results, citing Election Day problems in Maricopa County that caused confusion and chaos for some voters.

That cycle, several prominent Republicans aligned with former president Donald Trump lost their statewide campaigns, including gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem.

The secretary of stateâ€s office sued Cochise County, and in a dramatic hearing, a judge ordered the board to meet before the close of the business day to certify.

“You will meet today,â€� Superior Court Judge Casey F. McGinley told the county officials at the time. “You will canvass the election no later than 5 oâ€clock.â€�

Judd and the countyâ€s third board member, a Democrat, certified the countyâ€s results, ending the standoff. Crosby did not show up for the certification vote. His case is ongoing.

Mayes said that Juddâ€s plea deal and sentencing should deter public officials from acting outside of the scope of their duties during the upcoming election.

“Any attempt to interfere with elections in Arizona will not be tolerated,� Mayes said in a statement. “My office will continue to pursue justice and ensure that anyone who undermines our electoral system is held accountable.�

Standing outside of the courtroom with family members and her legal team, Judd said that state prosecutors were trying to “make an example out of me.� She said that she always intended to certify the results of the 2022 election but that she wanted to give people who had concerns about the outcome more time to voice their concerns.

In her view, Mayesâ€s decision to prosecute her was driven by politics.

“Itâ€s a purely political game,â€� Judd said. “If the wrong person is against you, and they donâ€t believe the way you do, theyâ€re going to get you. … If we had a Republican attorney general right now, this never would have happened.â€�