A federal judge in Phoenix issued an order Wednesday dismissing a constitutional complaint filed last week by the 11 Republicans who would have cast Arizona’s electoral votes had President Donald Trump garnered the most votes in last month’s general election.
U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa said the plaintiffs’ request for a forensic investigation of Maricopa County’s voting system that could have led to request to throw out Arizona’s presidential election results failed to provide “clear and conclusive facts” supporting their contention that voting was “so riddled with fraud, illegality and statistical impossibility” that the canvassed ballot counts from the state’s 15 counties should be de-certified.
“Yet the Complaint’s allegations are sorely wanting of relevant or reliable evidence, and Plaintiffs’ invocation of this Court’s limited jurisdiction is severely strained,” the judge ruled, adding that plaintiffs’ attorneys also failed to demonstrate their clients had standing to bring forth the legal challenge. “Notably, the Republican candidate whose name was on the ballot is not a plaintiff in this case.”
Humetewa detailed her finding in a 29-page order which will likely be appealed this week to the U.S. Supreme Court. It could be the final option by various Republican voters and organizations to overturn former Vice-President Joe Biden’s 10,547 vote victory in Arizona.
The lawsuit alleged Gov. Doug Ducey and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs violated the Elections and Electors Clauses by certifying the state’s election results despite the alleged loss or destruction of absentee ballots and even though thousands of absentee ballots were allegedly obtained by people other than the registered voters.
It also alleged Ducey and Hobbs ignored “countless examples” of voter fraud involving the nearly 2.1 million General Election ballots cast in Maricopa County.
“Plaintiffs’ Complaint includes a hodge-podge of alleged misconduct by Arizona elections officials, occurring on various dates over the past weeks, months, and even years,” Humetewa noted, adding that such unspecific claims fell far short of justifying the “extraordinary” requested relief of setting aside the results of the presidential race.
“Allegations that find favor in the public sphere of gossip and innuendo cannot be a substitute for earnest pleadings and procedure in federal court,” she noted. “To give Plaintiffs the relief they desire would disenfranchise the nearly 3.4 million Arizonans that voted in the 2020 General Election,” the judge noted.
Humetewa’s order came after a hearing Tuesday morning during which an attorney speaking on behalf of Ducey, Hobbs, and Maricopa County argued the case must be dismissed on a number of procedural grounds. One of the defendants’ arguments was that the Republican plaintiffs should not be allowed to argue a state election challenge in a federal court.
“Plaintiffs aver that their claims seek federal action under federal statutes, and therefore, their claims are distinguishable from the claims being litigated in the state court,” Humetewa noted. “The Court disagrees.”
The judge added that even assuming the Plaintiffs established their claims are indeed independent federal claims, “it is unclear what ongoing violation of federal law is being asserted.” She further noted the arguments and statutes relied upon by the Republican electors “involve Arizona election law and the election procedures carried out at the county and state level by state officials.”
The state courts, she ruled, “are adequately equipped to protect the rights of the named Plaintiffs, especially considering that Plaintiff (Kelli) Ward already pursued her grievances there.” Several state court judges have dismissed various election challenges filed in Maricopa County, including one Ward filed Nov. 24. That case is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Ward announced Wednesday.
Even though the root of Humetewa’s ruling Wednesday was whether the 11 Republican electors had standing to request relief from a federal court, an equal amount of her comments dealt with the quality -and quantity- of evidence the plaintiffs said supported their case.
“Advancing several different theories, Plaintiffs allege that Arizona’s Secretary of State and Governor conspired with various domestic and international actors to manipulate Arizona’s 2020 General Election results allowing Joseph Biden to defeat Donald Trump in the presidential race,” Humetewa wrote. “The allegations they put forth to support their claims of fraud fail in their particularity and plausibility. Plaintiffs append over three hundred pages of attachments, which are only impressive for their volume. The various affidavits and expert reports are largely based on anonymous witnesses, hearsay, and irrelevant analysis of unrelated elections.”
Alex Kolodin, the Phoenix-based attorney who was part of the plaintiffs’ legal team, spoke with Arizona Daily Independent about Humetewa’s ruling.
“We are disappointed with the decision but pleased that our clients have chosen to fight on,” said Kolodin. “Chairwoman Ward has approved an appeal to the US Supreme Court and we will be filing a petition for emergency transfer asking the Court to take the case directly without intermediate appeal.”