AZGOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward’s fight to block her fellow Republicans from auditing the results of her own election have landed the State Party in court. Now, the AZGOP and Ward are facing the nearly identical charges that they have made against elected officials who are blocking an audit of the 2020 General Election.
The suit, filed by two candidates for State GOP office, Bill Beard and Sandra Dowling, champions the cause of every state committeeman who challenged the results of the January 23rd meeting in accordance with the party’s bylaws. As pointed out in the suit, both National Committeeman Tyler Bowyer, who acted as Parliamentarian during the meeting, and AZGOP Executive Director Greg Safsten, assured those filing challenges that they were within the required 10 days and that the audit would take place. It was Ward, on an appearance on James T Harris’ radio show on KFYI, who declared that no audit would take place at any time.
Ward’s position was reversed by GOP Party Attorneys in response to a demand letter written by Timothy LaSota on behalf of Beard and Dowling. The party’s attorneys appeared to acknowledge the right to an audit, but claimed that the Party Chairman had no authority to conduct such an audit, and that it would have to be ordered and conducted by the State Committeemen themselves.
Now a judge will get to decide the matter – maybe. Several GOP observers think the courts will punt on the matter instead of deciding it, and dismiss the case as not being a matter for the courts to settle.
In the meantime, the Arizona Republican Party will continue to be the party that is spending its contributions on legal actions to fight for transparency and election integrity for everyone else’s elections, while spending its contributions on legal expenses to fight against transparency and election integrity in its own elections.