TUCSON, Ariz. – On Wednesday, March 15, Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07) sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate the actions taken by the Cochise County Board of Supervisors in recently appointing David Stevens as elections administrator transferring him nearly all the authority for running elections. David Stevens has a history of election denialism, promoting illegal election schemes including the illegal proposal to hand count all midterm election ballots and has close connections with election denying candidates in Arizona like former Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem.

In the letter, Rep. Grijalva urges DOJ to take further action:

“I am concerned that this agreement may result in the partisan administration of elections in Cochise County… In my opinion, given the past actions by Mr. Stevens and members of the Republican majority on the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, this broad consolidation of power in Mr. Stevens is dangerous and threatens to undermine faith in Cochise County elections. For those reasons, I encourage the Department of Justice to investigate and monitor Cochise County’s elections processes under Mr. Stevens’ management and provide Arizona Attorney General Mayes with the resources and support her office may need to protect voting rights and the integrity of elections in Arizona.”

The full letter can be found here.