Abe Hamade in September 2022. Photo: Gage Skidmore (retouched) | flicker/CC BY-SA 2.0

Abraham Hamadeh’s third appeal to annull the results of last year’s lost Arizona Attorney General election hinges on allowing more ballots to be inspected, which lawyers for the Democratic opposition have given him. claims continue to prove to be without evidence.

On Tuesday, Mojave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jansen heard arguments on whether Hamadeh, who lost by just 280 votes, should be given another chance to challenge the election results. Lawyers for the unsuccessful Republican candidate argued that more than 1,000 blocking votes blew the results against him, but the court was unable to provide more than speculation. A decision on the future of the case will be made in the coming weeks, though an exact date has not been set.

brief summary

The 2022 midterm elections, widely predicted to be a windfall for the Republican Party, turned out to be a narrow victory for several Democratic candidates. Democrat Chris Mays won the Attorney General’s office by just 511 votes.

The Republican candidate, fueled by Election Day mishaps and conspiracy theories surrounding those mishaps, immediately sought to overturn the loss in court.Problems with Maricopa County On Demand his printer caused the tallyer to reject 17,000 ballotsled to confusion and disenfranchisement claims as voters were asked to travel to other polling stations, turn in their ballots for later counting, or mark out provisional ballots.

The first lawsuit in late November, contesting Hamade’s loss, was dismissed on the following grounds: Ignore the schedule of when you can legally challenge. A second attempt was rejected in December. not bear the burden of proof. During that trial, Mr. Hamade’s lawyers filed a series of complaints, including widespread election official misconduct and an unfair election verification process that cost him his campaign. But after more than 2,000 investigations, only 14 ballots were submitted as dubious evidence, forcing Judge Jantzen to dismiss the case.

After a legal recount revealed a mistake by Pinal County poll workers and cut Mays’ lead to 280 votes, Hamade said: Started the third challengeshifts focus to undervoting and failed provisional ballots.

Hamade’s Request: Let’s Dig More

Hamade’s attorneys accused Gov. Katie Hobbs (then Secretary of State) and the Maricopa County Election Commissioner for what they viewed as concealment of information. Attorneys said Hobbes could have shared information from the recount during the course of the trial because it was relevant to the matter in the case, and that the public record filed with Maricopa County for a provisional voter list was filed. He argued that the request for record was not completed until after the court. The trial is over.

“When evidence or information is not revealed, it is violence in the interests of justice. This is violence against the court’s truth function,” said Hamade’s attorney, James Sabarros.

However, state law directs the Secretary of State to communicate the results of the recount to the judges, who are the only ones who can announce them. The announcement was Postponed until December 29thOne county needed more time to conduct a post-recount audit, less than a week after Hamade’s trial ended.

Attorney Jennifer Wright Frequent critic of Mays, who served under former Attorney General Mark Brunovichpointed to hundreds of written declarations from voters who claimed they were disenfranchised as evidence that Hamade could have won the election. Wright also said that in Maricopa County alone, as many as 1,100 provisional ballots were incorrectly denied, including a number whose registrations were incorrectly canceled and updated to reflect different real estate addresses in different counties. He also claimed to have 100 voters. Wright argues that changes made to Service Arizona, the Department of Transportation’s self-service website, and Arizona’s voter registration database unintentionally complicated the process and disenfranchised voters statewide. bottom.

There was a similar viral claim from Hamade in March. error exposed It turns out that the veteran who claimed his registration was mistakenly transferred to Navajo County simply agreed to renew his registration after applying for an ID card at the county.

Wright said voters on Election Day were overwhelmingly Republican, so most of the lost provisional votes may have gone to Hamadeh by a margin large enough to change the outcome of the election in his favor. guessed high. To prove these claims, Mr. Hamade’s lawyers requested limited ballot checks to substantiate their claims.

“Because of an error in the number of votes, I argue that Chris Mays, who was declared elected, did not actually receive the highest number of votes for the office of attorney general,” Wright said.

Opponents React: Judge Should Dismiss ‘Fishing Expedition’

Mays’s attorney, Alexis Dannemann, criticized Hamade’s legal team for failing to provide concrete evidence beyond written testimony. Dannemann said these testimonies were not true, nor were the voter estimates.

“As we stand here today, more than five months after the trial, they still have no real evidence that would change the outcome. Rather, their arguments in this court. summed up, “Elections were coming, so if you let me keep looking, maybe I’ll find something,” she said.

Dannemann added that election challenges are strictly regulated by state law, and that none of the exceptions Hamade’s lawyers are seeking exist. Lawsuits challenging race results must be filed within five days of a statewide election campaign, trial must begin no later than 15 days after, and judges may jeopardize elections. To avoid lengthy deliberations, it is necessary to make decisions on litigation immediately. Majesty.

Mr Dannemann said Mr Hamade had already been given the opportunity to recount in court but failed and that allowing the election to be retaken after the election results had already been confirmed in the required recount would set a dangerous precedent. said that he would make

“The unusual and unprecedented relief sought by plaintiffs will cause confusion,” she warned. “Courtrooms are in chaos, election officials are in chaos, attorney generals are in chaos.

Craig Morgan, an attorney with the secretary of state’s office, said the remedy Mr. Hamade sought, ensuring that all votes were counted, was already met by a statewide recount. Issues were identified through this process and uncounted votes were added to the final tally.

Morgan said greenlighting the lawsuit did nothing for the health of the Arizona election. It will only strengthen election naysayers like Hamade, who continue to spread baseless allegations of wrongdoing. Social media and right wing news platform.

“Arizonas deserve a final decision in the 2022 general election,” Morgan said. “This case exists day after day without a final verdict, and like another day candidates, their friends, colleagues and voters continue to denounce the legitimacy of the electoral process in Arizona. and continues to denounce the integrity of the public servants who have dedicated themselves and their careers to preserving our democracy for future generations and questioning the very foundations of our nation. toss. ”

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