The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to certify the 2020 general election, making the results official in an election cycle that drew unprecedented voter turnout and registration. The two Republicans on the board — Ally Miller and Steve Christy — voted not to certify the results.
Pima County was one of 13 counties throughout the state that made their results official in the last week. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors certified results on Friday. Mohave County and Coconino County have yet to complete their official canvass, coming close to the Nov. 23 deadline.
Prior to the Nov. 3 election, the number of registered voters in Pima County topped 600,000 for the first time in history. Of the 638,000 eligible voters in the county, about 526,000 — 82% — participated in the general election. The statewide voter turnout also reached nearly 80%, the highest in recent history.
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Here’s a look at the results for some local and statewide races. For more election results and historical voting information, visit the Arizona Secretary of State’s website at www.azsos.gov/elections.
President
Joe Biden (DEM)
49.39% or 1,672,143 votes
Donald Trump (REP)
49.08% or 1,661,686 votes
Joe Biden won Arizona by approximately 10,000 votes statewide. In Pima County, however, the gap between the candidates was much larger with 304,981 votes for Biden and 207,758 for Trump.
U.S. Senator
Mark Kelly (DEM)
51.17% or 1,716,467 votes
Martha McSally (REP)
48.82% or 1,637,661 votes
Republican Martha McSally conceded the race to Democrat Mark Kelly last week after results showed her trailing by nearly 80,000 votes. In Pima County, Kelly held nearly 60% of the vote.
Propositions
PROP. 207
60% or 1,956,440 voted yes, 40% or 1,302,458 voted no
Arizona voters approved Proposition 207, making the possession, use and cultivation of recreational marijuana legal throughout the state. Once the election results are made official Nov. 30, possession of up to one ounce will be legal for adults over 21.
PROP 208
52% or 1,675,810 said yes, 48% or 1,562,639 said no
Also known as the Invest in Education Act, Proposition 208 will raise revenue for educator salaries by increasing taxes on Arizona's highest earners.
Pima County Recorder
Gabriella Cázares-Kelly (DEM)
59% or 289,932 votes
41% or 203,631 votes
Pima County Sheriff
Chris Nanos (DEM)
50.34% or 252,196 votes
49.66% or 248,765 votes
Pima County Assessor
Suzanne Droubie (DEM)
58% or 280,981 votes
Jo Ann Sabbagh (REP)
42% or 206,470 votes
Pima County Treasurer
Beth Ford (REP)
50.59% or 250,713 votes
Brian Bickel (DEM)
49.41% or 244,843 votes
Pima County Supervisors
District 1
Rex Scott (DEM): 50.28% or 66,565votes
District 2
Matt Heinz (DEM): 68% or 48,153 votes
Anthony Sizer (REP): 32% or 22,885 votesDistrict 3
Sharon Bronson (DEM): 57% or 51,823 votes
Gabby Saucedo Mercer (REP): 43% or 38,410 votes
District 4
Steve Christy (REP): 55% or 69,292 votes
Steve Diamond (DEM): 45% or 57,813 votes
District 5
Adelita Grijalva (DEM): 74% or 56,266 votes
Fernando Gonzales (REP): 26% or 20,179 votes
Arizona Congressional Delegation
District 1
Tom O'Halleran (DEM): 52% or 188,469 votes
Tiffany Shed (REP): 48% or 176,709 votes
District 2
Ann Kirkpatrick (DEM): 55% or 209,945 votes
Brandon Martin (REP): 45% or 170,975 votes
District 3
Raúl Grijalva (DEM): 65% or 174,243 votes
Daniel Wood (REP): 35% or 95,594 votes
District 4
Paul Gosar (REP): 70% or 278,002 votes
Delina Dissinto (DEM): 30% or 120,484 votes
District 5
Andy Biggs (REP): 59% or 262,414 votes
Joan Greene (DEM): 41% or 183,171 votes
District 6
David Schweikert (REP): 52% or 217,783 votes
Hiral Tipirneni (DEM): 48% or 199,644 votes
District 7
Ruben Gallego (DEM): 77% or 165,452 votes
Joshua Barnett (REP): 23% or 50,226 votes
District 8
Debbie Lesko (REP): 60% or 251,633 votes
Michael Muscato (DEM): 40% or 170,816 votes
District 9
Greg Stanton (DEM): 62% or 217,094 votes
Dave Giles (REP): 38% or 135,180 votes
Photos: 2020 General Election in Pima County and Arizona
Ballot processing in Pima County
Ballot processing in Pima County
Ballot processing in Pima County
Ballot processing in Pima County
Ballot processing in PIma County
Ballot processing in PIma County
Ballot processing in PIma County
Ballot processing in PIma County
Ballot processing, Pima County
Ballot processing, Pima County
Ballot processing, Pima County
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election 2020 Senate Kelly
Election 2020 Senate Kelly
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election 2020 Arizona Voting
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Election Day, Pima County and Arizona, 2020
Judge throws out lawsuit, finds no fraud or misconduct in Arizona election
PHOENIX — A judge tossed out a bid by the head of the Arizona Republican Party to void the election results that awarded the state’s 11 electoral votes to Democrat Joe Biden.
The two days of testimony produced in the case brought by GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward produced no evidence of fraud or misconduct in how the vote was conducted in Maricopa County, said Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner in his Friday ruling.
Warner acknowledged that there were some human errors made when ballots that could not be read by machines due to marks or other problems were duplicated by hand.
But he said that a random sample of those duplicated ballots showed an accuracy rate of 99.45%.
Warner said there was no evidence that the error rate, even if extrapolated to all the 27,869 duplicated ballots, would change the fact that Biden beat President Trump.
The judge also threw out charges that there were illegal votes based on claims that the signatures on the envelopes containing early ballots were not properly compared with those already on file.
He pointed out that a forensic document examiner hired by Ward’s attorney reviewed 100 of those envelopes.
And at best, Warner said, that examiner found six signatures to be “inconclusive,” meaning she could not testify that they were a match to the signature on file.
But the judge said this witness found no signs of forgery.
Finally, Warner said, there was no evidence that the vote count was erroneous. So he issued an order confirming the Arizona election, which Biden won with a 10,457-vote edge over Trump.
Federal court case remains to be heard
Friday’s ruling, however, is not the last word.
Ward, in anticipation of the case going against her, already had announced she plans to seek review by the Arizona Supreme Court.
And a separate lawsuit is playing out in federal court, which includes some of the same claims made here along with allegations of fraud and conspiracy.
That case, set for a hearing Tuesday, also seeks to void the results of the presidential contest.
It includes allegations that the Dominion Software voting equipment used by Maricopa County is unreliable and was programmed to register more votes for Biden than he actually got.
Legislative leaders call for audit but not to change election results
Along the same lines, Senate President Karen Fann and House Speaker Rusty Bowers on Friday called for an independent audit of the software and equipment used by Maricopa County in the just-completed election.
“There have been questions,” Fann said.
But she told Capitol Media Services it is not their intent to use whatever is found to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election.
In fact, she said nothing in the Republican legislative leaders’ request for the inquiry alleges there are any “irregularities” in the way the election was conducted.
“At the very least, the confidence in our electoral system has been shaken because of a lot of claims and allegations,” Fann said. “So our No. 1 goal is to restore the confidence of our voters.”
Bowers specifically rejected calls by the Trump legal team that the Legislature come into session to void the election results, which were formally certified on Monday.
“The rule of law forbids us to do that,” he said.
In fact, Bowers pointed out, it was the Republican-controlled Legislature that enacted a law three years ago specifically requiring the state’s electors “to cast their votes for the candidates who received the most votes in the official statewide canvass.”
He said that was done because Hillary Clinton had won the popular vote nationwide in 2016 and some lawmakers feared that electors would refuse to cast the state’s 11 electoral votes for Trump, who won Arizona’s race that year.
“As a conservative Republican, I don’t like the results of the presidential election,” Bowers said in a prepared statement. “But I cannot and will not entertain a suggestion that we violate current law to change the outcome of a certified election.”
Photos of the 2020 General Election voting, election night and ballot processing in Pima County, Maricopa County and throughout Arizona.
Contact reporter Jasmine Demers at jdemers@tucson.com
On Twitter: @JasmineADemers.