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Arizona Recount Confirms Democrat Beats Republican Abe Hamadeh

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Democrats can add another statewide win in Arizona following a state-mandated recount in the attorney general’s race. Election officials have now confirmed that following the recount, Kris Mayes has defeated Republican Abe Hamadeh by 280 votes.

“Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason unveiled the results of the recount in a hearing on Thursday,” ABC News reported. “Mayes’ lead from November was nearly halved in the recount. The results showed she had 1,254,809 votes to Hamadeh’s 1,254,529 votes.”

It’s the latest loss for Trump-backed Republicans in a typically red state. In addition to losing the AG contest, Republican candidates also lost the governor’s mansion as well as a U.S. Senate and secretary of state races.

The most high-profile loss thus far in Arizona is that of Kari Lake, who was beaten by Secretary of State Katie Hobbs by about 17,000 votes, also a very thin margin. Lake is legally challenging her election results, alleging a series of Election Day snafus at dozens of polling places was designed to suppress GOP turnout.

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On Thursday, Lake praised a judge in Georgia who has ordered a new election after officials discovered “systemic irregularities” they say potentially impacted the outcome of the race.

“The case involved a rural county commission race in Screven County, where several candidates filed a lawsuit alleging incorrect ballots were issued to at least two dozen voters, potentially altering the outcome of a county commission race decided by just seven votes, The Georgia Virtue reported,” Newsweek reported.

“Several voters, it was later found, had been assigned ballots to districts they did not live in, meaning voters of a certain district were effectively disenfranchised from the vote in their home districts—an argument Lake made after up to 1,000 Arizona voters were provided with incorrect ballots in early voting in the fall,” the report continued.

“The judge ultimately ordered a new election in Screven County—something Lake has been pushing for in Arizona after alleging, and failing to prove, instances of rampant fraud and irregularities in her own election,” the outlet added.

The decision led Lake to post on Twitter: “WORTH NOTING.”

A judge in Arizona handed Lake a legal victory on Tuesday, a day after she lost her lawsuit alleging voter disenfranchisement during last month’s elections. That said, the judge did award the winner of the race, Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, some $33,000 to cover the costs associated with retaining expert witnesses during the two-day trial.

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“Lake lost her bid for Arizona governor by a half a percentage point to Hobbs. As a result, Lake challenged the result, claiming that there were problems with ballot printers at some polling places on Election Day that were the result of intentional misconduct,” Fox News reported.

After the trial, in which Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ruled in favor of Hobbs, the judge gave her team until Monday to file sanctions against Lake’s attorneys for bringing the lawsuit. Hobbs’ team also sought $36,990 in attorneys’ fees and expenses, as well as sanctions. The Arizona court denied the sanctions, however, ruling that the case was not brought in bad faith or groundless.

Lake announced after the ruling against her that she would file an appeal.

Lake tweeted Saturday morning: “This Judge did not rule in our favor. However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal his ruling.”

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Thompson wrote in his decision: “Every one of Plaintiff’s witnesses — and for that matter, Defendants’ witnesses as well — was asked about any personal knowledge of both intentional misconduct and intentional misconduct directed to impact the 2022 General Election. Every single witness before the Court disclaimed any personal knowledge of such misconduct. The Court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence.”

Over 200 people submitted statements to the court detailing their frustrating experiences trying to vote on Election Day in Maricopa County. However, Thompson stated that many of those voters were still able to cast their ballots.

“This Court acknowledges the anger and frustration of voters who were subjected to inconvenience and confusion at voter centers as technical problems arose during the 2022 General Election,” Thompson wrote.

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