Recent Articles from Bob Christie, Associated Press
2nd Arizona county delays certifying election, for now
A second Republican-controlled Arizona county on Monday delayed certifying the results of this month's election as a protest against voting issues in Maricopa County that some GOP officials have blamed for their losses in top races including the contest for governor.
Cochise County leaders end hand-count lawsuit, cite recount
Two Republicans who control the board in Cochise County on Wednesday told a judge they want to withdraw a lawsuit they had filed just two days prior that sought to force their own elections director to hand-count all the ballots cast in-person on Election Day.
Arizona voters reject effort to enact stricter voter ID law
Arizona voters who overwhelmingly cast their ballots by mail have rejected a measure that would have required them to add more information to the simple signature and date they now put on the back of the return envelope.
Maricopa County quick to bat down election misinformation
When the Republican candidate for Arizona governor accused the state's most populous county of "slow-rolling" the vote count to skew early election results, a local official fired back.
Cochise County’s ballot hand-count plan challenged in court
Cochise County’s plan to hand count all ballots cast in next week's election has triggered a court challenge, marking the latest twist to the effort by the rural entity to mollify skeptics distrustful of its vote-counting equipment.
Arizona woman gets 30 days in jail for collecting 4 ballots
A southwestern Arizona woman who pleaded guilty to illegally collecting four early voting ballots in the 2020 primary election was sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years’ probation on Thursday, with the judge rejecting her plea for just probation and saying he did not think she accepts responsibility for her criminal act.
Arizona abortions won’t stop for a month while case proceeds
Legal abortions that restarted in Arizona this week after a court blocked enforcement of a pre-statehood ban will be able to continue for at least five weeks while an appeals court considers the case.
Arizona county mulls ballot hand-count, but lawyer says no
Officials in a southeastern Arizona county were prepared to move ahead with a plan to hand count all ballots in November's election alongside the normal machine count on Tuesday, but at the last minute the county attorney told the board they had no legal authority to do so.
Arizona woman seeks leniency in ballot harvesting case
A parade of character witnesses provided a judge Thursday with glowing reports about a southern Arizona woman who admitted collecting four voted early ballots in the 2020 primary election, as her lawyer seeks leniency and prosecutors urge him to send her to prison for a year.
Lawyers: Arizona GOP chair pleaded Fifth to Jan. 6 panel
Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward refused to answer questions during a deposition of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, an attorney for the panel revealed Tuesday during a court hearing in Phoenix.
Arizona clinic has workaround for abortion pill ban
A Phoenix abortion clinic has come up with a way for patients who can end their pregnancy using a pill to get the medication quickly without running afoul of a resurrected Arizona law that bans most abortions.
Candidates for top state election job to spar in debate
A Republican Arizona lawmaker who embraces election conspiracies and has former President Donald Trump's endorsement will spar with the Democrat who helped oversee the 2020 election in Maricopa County this evening as they both seek the state's top election post.