An automatic recount of the race had already been triggered due to tight margins.In the final tally, both candidates 50% of votesDemocrat Chris Mays received 1,254,612 votes and Hamade received 1,254,102, according to unofficial tallies. Most Arizona counties have already confirmed their election results, and the rest, including Maricopa, have until his November 28th.

Hamade filed a lawsuit with the Republican National Committee. The legal challenge says plaintiffs do not allege “fraud, manipulation or other willful misconduct to challenge the results of the November 8, 2022 general election.”

At the heart of the lawsuit are “errors and inaccuracies in the administration of some voting operations” and “counting of some votes” resulting in “illegal denial of franchises to certain qualified voters.” , which caused the “miscounting” of certain votes. , included certain illegal votes related to the Arizona Attorney General election to tally the canvas. ”

The lawsuit asks the court to have Maricopa County process and count all provisional ballots. received from 146 people Checked in to a vote center but left without counting their ballots on the spot or depositing them in a secure box for later counting, and they were not checked out by polling place officials. Election Day voting site, but was forced to cast a provisional ballot because the election system indicated that he had already voted.

Hamade is also seeking an injunction against Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who defeated Kari Lake to become governor-elect, to prove Mays’ victory in the Attorney General election.

Among other allegations made in the lawsuit, the bipartisan tribunal failed to properly reproduce ballots that were damaged or illegible to the vote counters, but the lawsuit provides no evidence for that allegation. Similarly, allegations that the county allowed “illegal” voting by improperly awarding ballots were not supported by concrete evidence.

But Tom Ryan, a Valley attorney and critic of Hamade’s lawsuit, is set to become attorney general because state law is clear about when legal challenges to election results can be filed. Hamade said every county is investigating the results and filing lawsuits in court before the state approves the election, but Arizona State law states that such lawsuits can only be filed after the results have been approved. pointed out on twitter.

If Prime Minister Abe had paid attention in law school, he might have learned about ARS Sec. 16-673 deals with when election contests can be submitted. “The Electors Contend [an] The election shall be submitted to the court within 5 days after the completion of the canvas…. 2/

— Tom Ryan (@tomryanlaw) November 23, 2022

“This is just an execution lawsuit for consumption by the ignorant public,” Ryan told the Arizona Mirror.

Hamade and the RNC are represented by Republican election attorneys Cory Langhofer and Timothy La Sota. Langhofer, who this month represented Republican Senator Blake Masters, tried unsuccessfully to keep polling places open after 7 p.m.

No date has been set for an initial hearing in the case, but Hamade and the RNC are calling for an expedited hearing.

And that’s not the only legal issue facing the results of Tuesday night’s Maricopa County election.

Outgoing State Senate Government Committee Chair Kelly Townsend, R-Apache Junction, Filed a subpoena with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors We are requesting election records, specifically the printers that wreaked havoc in about 30% of vote centers.

Townsend requested action from the oversight board by 9:30 am on November 28.

***UPDATE: This story has been updated with additional comments from Tom Ryan.