Phoenix-Mojave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantsen late Friday rejected Abe Hamade’s bid for a retrial to contest his loss in the attorney general election.
But it will be Monday when we know exactly why Hamade and his successful adversary Democrat Chris Mays said the judge didn’t present enough evidence for legal rework.
In the order, Jantzen said he was working on “minutes,” a type of court order, and hoped to have it completed by Friday afternoon.
“However, a fire broke out at the courthouse over the weekend and added several emergencies to my calendar, so I wasn’t able to complete that minute’s entry,” the judge wrote.
The order came more than half a year after Jantsen dismissed Hamade’s original challenge to the election results.
“The bottom line is you haven’t proven your case,” the judge said in December during a court ruling after a half-day trial, adding, “We don’t have enough information. I don’t think there’s even the slightest bit of information. ‘ said. – Elections were held illegally or fraudulently. ”
Hamade has called for a retrial, saying the issues uncovered in the legally mandated recount of the close race showed that the election could go wrong. This specifically included Pinal County’s finding that 507 votes were not initially counted after the first election results were reported and certified.
Updated results after the recount narrowed Mays’ margin of victory to just 280 votes, but that wasn’t enough to overturn the result.
But Hamade’s lawyers, the Republican National Committee, and two voters restricted ballot inspections ahead of the first trial. He argued that more ballots should be made available for inspection. This, they argue, will allow them to determine whether the client actually received more votes than the final tally showed.
Jantzen said he took their arguments seriously.
“This is a close call in a close election,” the judge said in Friday’s order, but said he could not conclude that a retrial was appropriate after considering the evidence presented, state law and the Arizona Constitution. Stated.
In a prepared statement, Hamade said he could not comment on the verdict until he had seen the judge’s rationale.
“But we think the situation is very simple. The race was not as close as it is now. If all the legal votes were counted, I would win this race for Attorney General,” he said. Told.
Hamade then vowed to sue the Arizona Supreme Court.
Howard Fisher
Mr. Fisher is a longtime award-winning journalist in Arizona and the founder and operator of Capitol Media Services.
