On Friday, Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen ruled against a challenge of the 2022 General Election by Republican Attorney General candidate Abe Hamadeh. Hamadeh alleged that problems with printers in Maricopa County, and the improper handling of ballots that were duplicated or adjudicated, disenfranchised voters.
Hamadeh lost to Democrat Kris Mayes by 511 votes out of 2.5 million. The race is currently undergoing a statutorily required recount.
“I think the bottom line is for the ballots we’ve been able to present given the time, the compressed time frame, I think they clearly show in favor of what Mr. Hamadeh alleged in our complaint,” said Hamadeh’s attorney Timothy LaSota. “If you extrapolate the numbers, they’re not going to get us to the 511 votes if you take the sample we have. We concede that.”
Based on the constraints imposed on us by the court and the obstruction by the opposing side, we were only given 6 hours with 3 people to attempt to go through 2.5 million ballots.
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) December 23, 2022
“Based on the constraints imposed on us by the court and the obstruction by the opposing side, we were only given 6 hours with 3 people to attempt to go through 2.5 million ballots,” said Hamadeh in a series of tweets. “There are thousands of uncounted provisional ballots. Thousands of voters were disenfranchised. Election Day in Maricopa County was a disaster. Election officials failed democracy.
Maricopa County was given three weeks to count ballots. We were given 6 hours the day before trial. This is how they operate. My team will await the results of the recount before deciding our next steps. Merry Christmas!”
After the ruling, Mayes issued a statement saying she was confident she would take office after the recount.
“Today, we are thankful this election contest has been dismissed after Plaintiffs failed to provide any factual evidence,” stated Mayes. “The will of Arizona voters will not be undermined. As I’ve stated previously, I believe the state-mandated recount won’t change the outcome of this election and I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work as your next Attorney General, being a lawyer for all the people – ALL people – of our great state, Arizona. We will be releasing the plan for my first 100 days in office soon, and I’m grateful to my campaign, legal and transition teams who have been working with me throughout this unchartered post-election period. It is time to move forward, start rebuilding trust in the sanctity of our elections, protect voters and put unsubstantiated conspiracies to rest. Sanity and the rule of law prevailed today. May that continue to be the case as we charge ahead, so we can focus on solving real problems and protecting everyday Arizona’s. I wish you all a very happy holidays!”