Arizona county hires election director who spread false claims about 2020

Cochise county appoints Bob Bartelsmeyer, elections director who has shared social media posts with election fraud claims

A rural Arizona county whose local officials have embraced election denialism appointed a new director Tuesday to lead the county's elections who has previously cast doubt on election results.

Cochise county, a border county where two Republican supervisors have pushed for a hand count of ballots and previously refused to certify the 2022 election results, chose to hire Bob Bartelsmeyer, an elections director who has shared social media posts with debunked election fraud claims. The county supervisors approved him in a 2-1 vote with the two Republican supervisors voting in favor, while the Democratic supervisor voted against him.