New Mexico commissioner defies court order to certify primary election
Couy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner, says he’ll defy a state supreme court order to certify the 2022 primary election (see story here).
Griffin — a street preacher, sometime cowboy, and co-founder of a group called “Cowboys for Trump” — is a convicted Capitol rioter awaiting sentencing for misdemeanor trespassing (see story here).
Otero County is a Republican stronghold in a state where both the secretary of state and attorney general are Democrats. Those officials took the Otero County commissioners to court over their refusal to certify the June 7 primary due to their distrust of Dominion voting machines. They also questioned the 2020 election results, even though their own “audit” didn’t turn up any evidence of fraud or machine malfunctions.
On Thursday, Griffin told CNN he’s “not trying to overturn an election. We want transparency.” He added, “The more they try to fight us and shut us down, the more of a skeptic I will become.” That’s his prerogative. But disobeying a court order isn’t something anyone is allowed to do.
On that subject, he says, “Why have a commission if we just get overridden by the court system?” Because courts have the final say in legal disputes, that’s why. County commissions aren’t a law unto themselves, free to do as they please. They must carry out their duties in accordance with state law, and when they don’t as in this case, the courts can and should step in and remedy the situation.
I can’t guess what the court will do. It could hold Griffin in contempt and throw him in jail, but it probably won’t and probably shouldn’t. The commission has until tomorrow to certify the election, and if the other two commissioners vote to certify it and Griffin votes against, that solves the problem and no further action is necessary.
If a majority of the commission refuses to certify it, then the court could enter an order certifying it. Another possibility is the court could reassign the commission’s election duties to someone else (e.g., a special master, or the secretary of state’s office).
There are lots of ways to peel this apple that don’t require turning Griffin into more of a fake martyr than he already is, which may be what he hopes to get out of this. If that’s his aim, the court shouldn’t accommodate him.
What does need to happen, though, is that the rule of law must prevail. Whatever that takes.
Update (6/17/22): The commissioners certified by election by a 2-1 vote; because the county complied with the court order, Griffin will face no consequences for his “no” vote.
Couy Griffin, a New Mexico county commissioner, says he’ll defy a state supreme court order to certify the 2022 primary election (see story here).