Grand Canyon Times

Sen. Anthony Kern (R-AZ) has criticized Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes following her announcement that two board supervisors have been indicted by a Grand Jury for questioning Arizona's 2022 election results. This comes amidst mounting concerns about the impartiality of elected officials in the enforcement of state election laws.

"Guess it's time to impeach Kris Mayes for abusing her authority," said Anthony Kern.

In her announcement, Mayes detailed that Cochise County Supervisors Peggy S. Judd, aged 61, and Terry Thomas "Tom" Crosby, aged 64, are facing Class 5 felonies due to their challenge of the outcomes from the 2022 Arizona election. It was noted that both supervisors initially declined to certify results, particularly those where Democratic candidates, including Kris Mayes herself, secured victory by a slim margin. However, under court order citing lack of evidence supporting their claims, Judd and Crosby were compelled to verify and accept the results. Both supervisors chose to comply subsequent to this judicial intervention as reported by 12 News.

Following the unveiling of these indictments, worries have surfaced regarding Attorney General Mayes' potential misuse of her power. These concerns have been echoed by Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-AZ) among other Republican lawmakers who view this situation as alarming precedent-setting territory in terms of future elections. "Make no mistake; this is ELECTION INTERFERENCE by an extremist AG who wants to chill any future efforts by local election officials to challenge potentially inaccurate elections," Hoffman remarked according to a post on platform X.

Kris Mayes has defended her actions stating that any attempts at undermining democracy are unacceptable according to a press release from her office. She emphasizes the need for law adherence while reinforcing her commitment towards enforcing Arizona's elections laws and supporting officials involved in carrying out their responsibilities.

A call for action against Kris Mayes was made by Arizona Rep Rachel Jones through platform X. She warned of a potential downward spiral if immediate action is not taken against the alleged weaponization of the AG's office against AZ citizens.

It's worth noting that Republican lawmakers have persistently expressed their concerns regarding alleged flaws in the November 2022 election results. Notably, former Republican candidates for attorney general Abe Hamadeh and former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake raised significant concerns. The election saw Hamadeh narrowly lose to Mayes by just 280 votes as reported by the Arizona Daily Independent.