In an email sent to party insiders, AZGOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward wrote that the call letters signed by 352 State Committeemen and delivered to the Party Secretary last week, did not meet the criteria required to trigger a special meeting of the Party’s State Committee.
“Upon cursory evaluation to determine the nature and validity of the documents, it has been found that criteria to call a meeting has NOT been met.” wrote Ward.
Ward provided no details on what criteria had not been met, but the party bylaws require that the call specify the time, date, place, and purpose of the special meeting, all items that the call appears to contain. There has been no further information from the State Party regarding on what grounds Ward is disqualifying the calls, but signers of the call believe that Ward is not being honest with her supporters.
“Ward has personally been calling signers asking them to take their names off of the call, and her friends have been doing the same, even threatening people if they won’t take their names off. They wouldn’t be doing that if the call wasn’t valid,” one signer, who fears retaliation, told the ADI.
Timothy LaSota, who previously served as counsel for the AZGOP, and who now represents Bill Beard and Sandra Dowling in their efforts to force an audit of the January 23rd election, says that the call letter met all of the legal requirements, and that Ward’s attempts to dismiss the collective signatures of over 350 State Committeemen would not hold up. “The bylaws are very clear about the requirements of the call itself, and of how many signers need to be on board,” said LaSota, who added that “the call that was submitted meets all of the legal requirements, and there are far more signers than required, so I fully expect the laws and bylaws to be followed and the Special Meeting to happen on April 24.
