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The GOP candidate for attorney general in Arizona has been handed a major court victory this week after a state judge ruled an election-related lawsuit he filed earlier this month can proceed. After losing to Democratic candidate Kris Mayes by just 511 votes, Abe Hamadeh will get his day in court, according to documents seen by Democracy Docket.
Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen did, however, dismiss one of five counts presented by Hamadeh’s legal team, allowing the other four counts to proceed to trial. The court documents revealed that the one count Jantzen dismissed was in regard to allegations the Republican AG candidate made regarding unverified early ballots and allegedly illegal votes.
“With regard to Count V, this allegation of illegal votes is based on the early voting provision and the procedures to verify ballots that are contained in the Elections Procedure Manual (hereinafter ‘EPM’),” the court document noted. “There is not an allegation of election workers improperly not complying with the EPM.
“The procedure in the EPM being challenged has been in place since 2019 and should not be the subject of a post-election challenge. The Court finds the doctrine of laches applies to Count V as the procedures in the EPM should have been challenged prior to the election. This count must be dismissed,” Jantzen wrote.
Lawsuit Filed by Arizona Republican AG Candidate Abe Hamadeh Will Proceed to Trial https://t.co/gCHv4VqXgP
— (((TW))) (@Timgw2) December 22, 2022
The four remaining counts will be heard in an evidentiary hearing on Friday, the documents — cited by the Western Journal — note further.
The outlet reported:
The counts moving forward paint a damning portrait of incompetence and malfeasance that could easily lend itself to significantly altering a 511-vote victory.
The first count of the election challenge specifically targets Maricopa County and alleges “erroneous count of votes and election board misconduct; wrongful disqualification of provisional and early ballots.” The second count also specifically targets Maricopa County and similarly alleges “erroneous count of votes and election board misconduct; wrongful exclusion of provisional voters.”
The third count, which targets multiple election officials — including Mayes and Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs — alleges “erroneous count of votes: inaccurate ballot duplications.” The final count moving forward alleges “illegal votes and erroneous count of votes: improper ballot adjudications.”
Meanwhile, Republican Kari Lake’s election challenge to the Arizona gubernatorial race headed to trial this week after a judge declined to dismiss her lawsuit and allowed the suit to proceed.
“Katie Hobbs attempt to have our case thrown out FAILED. She will have to take the stand & testify. Buckle up, America. This is far from over,” Lake tweeted after the order came down.
Last week, a judge in Arizona gave her a win over the declared winner in the race, Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. On Friday, the Maricopa County judge granted Lake’s request to inspect ballots as her legal contesting of the November election continues. Judge Peter Thompson signed off on three out of four requests made by Lake via her legal team to review 50 random “ballot on demand” printed ballots cast on Election Day, as well as another 50 early ballots cast from “six separate Maricopa County batches,” and another 50 random ballot-on-demand printed ballots that were marked as spoiled.
However, Thompson rejected a request from Lake to inspect 50 randomly selected early ballot envelopes.
The ballot inspections commenced on Tuesday, reports noted earlier this week. Lake has yet to concede to Hobbs, though state officials, including her own office, have certified her as the winner.
“I am thankful to Judge Peter Thompson and his team for the work they do and we are confident that given the opportunity, we will expose this election for the sham it was,” Lake said in a statement.
Last week, Lake provided an update to former White House strategist Steve Bannon about her lawsuit on his top-rated Real America’s Voice podcast.
Andy Gaona, who represented the Secretary of State’s Office, asked the judge on Tuesday to keep the case on a short schedule in hopes that it will be dismissed quickly.
Hobbs has been certified the winner in the race by around 17,000 votes.
