Arizona is home of some of the most strident election deniers in the nation. Donald Trump insisted the Arizona vote totals were rigged in 2020, and Republican leaders there have not let it go.

Republican candidate for Arizona governor Kari Lake, who lost the election three weeks ago, still has not conceded and insists some problems with Maricopa County ballots being printed too lightly to be read by electric tabulators at the polling places is a sign of fraud and manipulation. Truth is, all the ballots were collected and counted.

Now, in Cochise County in Arizona, a pair of Republican county supervisors have so far refused to canvass and approve their county vote totals. They have argued that the electric tabulators may not have been properly certified. State election officials explained to them that they were, but they want to have another hearing to take more objections. If they don’t approve the votes by the Monday, Dec. 5 deadline, the state says Cochise County’s votes will not be included in the state’s final vote tally. This would disenfranchise every Cochise County voter who went to the polls Nov. 8. In an ironic turn, the loss of those votes could flip a couple of races, including a U.S. House seat, from Republican wins to Democratic wins. Several lawsuits have been filed or are being threatened if the votes are not approved in time.

It is a sorry situation when elected government officials refuse to do their duty, especially when that refusal robs their constituents of their votes. It is time for Republicans everywhere to put the big lie about election fraud to rest.