Allison Morse, speaking during public comment at the Cochise County Library District meeting Tuesday, Dec. 2, urged the board to consider two items on the Thursday agenda: a 10 a.m. presentation by Ken Bennett on a five-point plan to verify elections and an 11 a.m. item on Supervisor Crosby’s demand for $300,000 in legal fees.

Morse cited a recent Superior Court ruling she said was written by "Judge Melissa Julian," and argued that cast-vote records (CVRs) are protected from public disclosure under Arizona law. "This law states that election officials shall ensure that electronic data from and electronic or digital images of ballots are protected from physical and electronic access," she said, referencing ARS 16-625. She also noted Arizona statutes that protect ballot secrecy, saying that an Arizona law makes it a class 2 misdemeanor "for a person to show another person's voted ballot to any person in such a manner that reveals its content." Morse read a published comment from the Sierra Vista Herald criticizing Crosby’s request that the county pay his legal fees.

Supervisor Crosby responded directly in the meeting, disputing Morse’s characterization of prior legal advice and recounting his view of the timeline. "What I believe she's talking about 10/24/2022 when Mr. McIntyre said that doing an audit according to ARS 16-602(b) would be illegal," Crosby said, and he described a subsequent 10/25/2022 letter from former elections director "Corey Loric" that he said contradicted that opinion. Crosby also said a staff member (named in his remarks) was insubordinate for declining to conduct an audit after the board’s majority vote.

The board did not take any formal action on Morse’s public comment during the library district meeting. The items Morse referenced are scheduled for the board’s Thursday agenda, when the Ken Bennett presentation and Crosby’s legal-fee demand are expected to be discussed.