Topline
Commissioners in Otero County, New Mexico, voted 2-1 Friday afternoon to certify the results of a recent primary election, reversing course after their unanimous vote earlier this week to block the certification prompted a legal challenge.
Otero County, New Mexico, Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks to reporters in Washington on Friday. (AP … [+]
Key Facts
The lone dissenter in the all-Republican commission’s vote on Friday was Couy Griffin, the founder of a hard-right group called Cowboys for Trump who was convicted in April of breaching the Capitol on January 6.
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Wednesday granted a petition from Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver that the court order the commissioners to certify the vote.
Griffin told Forbes in an interview Thursday he had “concerns” about whether voting machines made by the company Dominion correctly tallied the votes—repeating a continually disproven claim former President Donald Trump’s legal team made after the 2020 election.
Key Background
The county commissioners largely avoided citing specifics, but their vote on Monday to block the certification appeared to be inspired by unfounded concerns about election integrity based on Trump’s fraud claims after the 2020 election. The move prompted immediate questions about whether the commission had the authority to delay the certification, with Oliver calling on the state attorney general to launch a criminal investigation.
Tangent
Griffin was sentenced to a 14-day jail term Friday for his role in the Capitol riot.
Further Reading
New Mexico Official Who Founded ‘Cowboys For Trump’ Found Guilty Over Role In Jan. 6 Riot (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/06/17/gop-officials-in-new-mexico-county-relent-and-certify-election-results-after-trump-inspired-fraud-concerns/