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A Republican-controlled county in the presidential battleground state of Arizona voted to hand count ballots in next month’s midterm congressional elections, a tallying method that has been called for by Republicans who claim voting machines are unreliable.

Despite warnings by election “experts” that hand counting is less reliable, could delay results, and is more expensive than machine tallies, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors in rural southeastern Arizona voted 2-1 on Monday to count ballots in November’s elections by hand.

The county will also count ballots by machine, but experts warned that a hand count could delay the results of the Nov. 8 election and raises the prospect of two different vote totals, something they say could further undermine faith in the U.S. election system.

Backers of Republican former President Donald Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him have been pushing for hand counts, claiming that voting machines were manipulated to allow Democrat Joe Biden to narrowly win Arizona and other swing states.

The two Republicans on the three-member County Board of Supervisors in Cochise County voted in favor of the hand count move, while the Democratic chairwoman voted against the measure.

Copyright 2022 Thomson/Reuters