Effort to delay AG results is dismissed
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Republican attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh contesting the results of the Nov. 8 election, finding that the complaint was premature.
While dismissed for now, Hamadeh still could file a complaint later, after the expected statewide certification.
“The merits of the lawsuit still stand. We will re-file the case after the statewide canvass,” said Hamadeh, who was joined in the complaint by the Republican National Committee.
Dan Barr, attorney for Democrat Kris Mayes, commented after the complaint was dismissed: “Their major problem is they still don’t have any facts to support their lawsuit.”
The final unofficial statewide results show Mayes ahead of Hamadeh by 510 votes. The difference between candidates is less than half a percentage point, which automatically triggers a recount. The recount is expected to start after the secretary of state certifies the election Dec. 5.
The judge’s decision comes a day after a court hearing in which Warner asked the various parties to discuss the timeliness of the lawsuit.
Barr argued for Mayes, one of those named in the lawsuit, that it was premature, citing Arizona statute 16-673, which notes that a statement contesting the election has to be filed five days after the secretary of state certifies the results and declares the winners.
Attorney Kory Langhofer argued for Hamadeh that it was not too early to file the complaint for several reasons, including that some questions addressed in the lawsuit needed to be determined before the recount.
While a lawsuit could be filed later, the scope of the complaint would be different.
Barr said the RNC cannot be a party to a future lawsuit because it is not considered a member of the Arizona electorate.
And in his Nov. 22 complaint, Langhofer tried to broaden the scope of what could be investigated under statutes related to the election process. He was seeking expanded discovery from all of Arizona’s 15 counties from what is allowed under election laws, something Barr said Langhofer would not be able to pursue at a later date.
“If they file another lawsuit, they’re not going to be able to seek all the documents and information they were seeking before. So it will be much slimmed down,” Barr said.
The legal complaint was initially filed against Mayes, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and other public officials.