Arizona Attorney General Election Contest I
Hamadeh v. Mayes
Lawsuit filed by Abraham Hamadeh, the Republican candidate for Arizona attorney general (a known election denier), and the Republican National Committee against Kris Mayes, the Democratic candidate for Arizona attorney general, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) and the county recorders and boards of supervisors for 15 counties. Hamadeh is requesting “judicial intervention” to ensure the candidate who “received the highest number of lawful votes is declared the next Arizona Attorney General.” Notably, Hamadeh requests an order from the court declaring that he won the election despite the fact that he currently trails by 510 votes. The lawsuit begins by stating that the plaintiffs are not “alleging any fraud, manipulation or other intentional wrongdoing that would impugn the outcomes of the November 8, 2022 general election” but then proceeds to cast doubt upon the results of the Arizona midterm elections by citing “systematic” errors. The plaintiffs claim that 273 voters’ early ballots were not counted and at least 146 voters were “incorrectly informed that they had already voted and were permitted to complete and submit only a provisional ballot” and that “the Maricopa County Defendants failed to tabulate these valid provisional ballots for inclusion in the canvass.” The plaintiffs also argue that the Ballot Duplications Boards (which is tasked with transposing a voter’s selections if an electronic tabulator cannot read the ballot) did not correctly duplicate certain ballots, which the plaintiffs allege “caused an erroneous count of votes for the office of Arizona Attorney General.” The plaintiffs assert that “the counties’ Electronic Adjudication Boards have incorrectly recorded a material number of voter selections in the race for Arizona Attorney General in the November 8, 2022 general election, thereby resulting in the unlawful mistabulation of a ballot lawfully cast by a qualified elector.” Moreover, the plaintiffs allege that “illegal votes” were cast arguing “the number of tabulated early ballots associated with an uncured affidavit signature that does not match the signature in the corresponding registration record is material to, and potentially dispositive of, the outcome of the election for the office of Arizona Attorney General.”
The plaintiffs request an order requiring the Maricopa County defendants to “process and tabulate all provisional ballots and early ballots submitted by qualified electors who had ‘checked in’ at a voting center but did not cast a regular ballot in the November 8, 2022 general election, and to amend the canvass results for the office of Arizona Attorney General accordingly.” They also request an order requiring Maricopa County to give all voters who “were refused a provisional ballot” an opportunity to cast a vote and an order requiring the counties to “amend the canvass results for the office of Arizona Attorney General to correct erroneous tabulations associated with the inaccurate duplication of ballots.” Among these other requests, the plaintiffs also demand an order “proportionately reducing the tabulated returns of early ballots to exclude early ballots that were accompanied by an uncured affidavit signature that is inconsistent with the signature on file in the putative voter’s registration record” and an order declaring Hamadeh “elected to the office of Arizona Attorney General and to issue to Contestant a certificate of election.”
On Nov. 29, the judge dismissed the election contest, finding that it “is premature under the election contest statute” given that “the canvass and declaration of results for the November 2022 election have not occurred.” However, the judge left open the possibility that Hamadeh can file a new “election contest after the canvass and declaration of election results have occurred.”
Case Documents
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