Maricopa is the country’s fourth most populous county, with nearly 4.5 million residents, according to the 2020 U.S. census. While House Bill 2787, proposed by state Representative Jake Hoffman, would shrink Maricopa County, it would still contain most of Phoenix, Tempe, Avondale and Glendale. The others three counties would be called Hohokam County, Mogollon County and O’Odham County.

Hohokam County would include the eastern parts of what is currently Maricopa county, Mogollon County would take the north and O’Odham County would take the west, according to the proposal.

Some have criticized the bill, in part, for leaving three of the counties controlled by Republicans and one by Democrats, The Arizona Republic reported. The move comes several months after a partisan audit confirmed that Maricopa County voted for now-President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

The proposed counties are “artfully gerrymandered,” according to The Arizona Republic, which reported that breaking up the county would be a further hassle by requiring three more of each position and department a county needs, such as county boards of supervisors, sheriffs, court systems, health departments and transportation departments.

Andrew Wilder, communications director for the state House Republican Caucus, told The Hill the bill’s sponsors think of it as “a legislative proposal with bipartisan support designed to ensure that Arizona governments remain accountable and representative to the community for generations to come.”

Arizona Republicans who subscribe to the unsubstantiated theory that there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election have been at odds with Maricopa County since it voted for Biden, ordering an audit to certify its election results. The audit did not find evidence to support the idea of election fraud.

It is unlikely the bill will advance because it was introduced on the last day lawmakers could bring new legislative proposals to the table, inside sources told The Hill.

Hoffman, who introduced the bill, has a history of supporting the idea that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. Newsweek previously reported that he was one of 11 Republicans who signed a bogus declaration in December 2020 that they were electors who voted for Trump in the presidential election. A video of Hoffman dodging questions about why he signed it went viral on Twitter.

He was also accused in October 2020 of setting up an “internet troll farm” by allegedly paying teenagers to create fake social media accounts and flood various platforms with posts questioning the election’s validity and calling for Trump’s reelection.

Hoffman did not immediately respond to Newsweek’s request for comment.

Update 02/10/22, 4 p.m. ET: This article was updated to add further information about the proposal to split Maricopa County into four counties.

Update 02/10/22, 3 p.m. ET: This article was updated to add more background information and comments from Andrew Wilder.