A Mohave County judge is expected to rule Monday afternoon on whether Abe Hamadeh has put forth sufficient arguments to warrant a trial on whether he, and not Kris Mayes, should be declared Arizona Attorney General-elect.
Hamadeh, the Republican nominee, will go into that 1:30 p.m. hearing a mere 511 votes behind Mayes, a Democrat. It is one of the closest margins in Arizona history in a race that saw more than 1.5 million votes cast.
Judge Lee F. Jantzen will conduct the hearing on whether Hamadeh’s election challenge should move forward to a Dec. 23 trial, or be dismissed as requested by Mayes and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. The Republican National Committee and two Mohave County voters joined with Hamadeh as plaintiffs.
“Our lawsuit has legitimate claims and we owe it to Arizona to have patience and accuracy in election contests,” Hamadeh recently tweeted. “Laws exist in order to provide justice and the courts are the guardians of justice.”
Hamadeh recently spoke with Arizona Daily Independent about his motivation for the election challenge. He said he was directly involved in determining which arguments to put forth in the lawsuit, staying focused on ensuring all votes on lawfully cast ballots are properly counted and unlawfully cast votes not counted
Hamadeh’s Lawsuit Is Worth The Time Of Arizona’s Legal System
Every legal vote deserves to be counted has become Hamadeh’s post-election mantra. But he understands the election challenge process takes time, something he has repeatedly stressed to supporters.
Hamadeh also reflected on why he entered the Attorney General race back in 2021 – because he understood how important the rule of law is for a civilized society. It is a driving force during his campaign and his position has not changed, he says.
“I’m not desperate to be a politician,” Hamadeh said. “I’m desperately worried about our country.”
Hamadeh made clear he wants the election challenge to move forth to a trial, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 23. But if Jantzen’s ruling goes the other way, he hopes the Arizona Legislature will ensure answers are obtained and the state’s elections laws updated appropriately.
There needs to be improved elections procedures for all Arizonans “whether Republican, Democrat, or other,” he said. This includes ensuring the check-in, check-out process is understood and to address situations for when extending the closing time of polling places should be allowed.
Hamadeh is also driven by the fact so many Maricopa County voters who experienced problems on Election Day and were disenfranchised had their concerns “dismissed out of hand” by county officials.
“We listened to them. And we want people like Stephen Richer and Bill Gates to be accountable for ignoring these voters,” he said.
It is one reason Hamadeh is advocating for there “to be consequences” that hold elections officials responsible for incorrect or misleading public statements, or for not taking legitimate election issues seriously.
“What if there is no consequence for incompetence within elections?” Hamadeh asked. “Democracy is at stake and people need to care. We deserve better.”
I’m fighting to make sure we restore integrity in our elections.
Katie Hobbs erroneously sending out 6,000 federal only ballots in October is incompetence.
Maricopa County’s hubris and failures on Election Day and opposing extending voting hours is unacceptable.
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) December 16, 2022
The motions to dismiss filed by Mayes and Hobbs cite the fact Arizona case law requires judges to apply “all reasonable presumptions” in favor of the validity of the election. The motions also spend much time criticizing the challenge for relying on “speculation” instead of documented facts.
But as Hamadeh’s lead attorney Tim La Sota noted, many of the facts are known only by elections officials. And the only way to get answers to some of the questions raised by Hamadeh and his co-plaintiffs is to get the case to the discovery phase.
And getting to those facts and answers is critical, even if it takes a few weeks, Hamadeh said, adding that “Arizonans deserve confidence in the vote count.”
There is no deadline for a state election contest.
Only the true winner of an election should be inaugurated.
As was noted previously by my opponent’s lawyers, there is precedent to allow the sitting officeholder to remain in power when there is a dispute of a winner. I agree.
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) December 16, 2022