Republicans File Lawsuit Challenging Arizona Attorney General Election Results
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, Nov. 22, Republican attorney general candidate (and election denier) Abraham Hamadeh and the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a lawsuit against Kris Mayes, the Democratic attorney general candidate, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) and 15 county recorders and boards of supervisors challenging the results of the 2022 election for Arizona attorney general. The Republicans begin their complaint by stating that they are not “alleging any fraud, manipulation or other intentional wrongdoing that would impugn the outcomes of the November 8, 2022 general election.” Rather, they allege that the election was “afflicted with certain errors and inaccuracies” and that the “cumulative effect of these mistakes” cost Hamadeh the attorney general race. Despite prefacing the complaint with the assurance they do not intend to cast doubt on the election, on page 22 of the 23 page complaint, the Republicans request a court order declaring Hamadeh the winner of the Arizona attorney general race despite the fact that he is currently trailing by 510 votes.
Notably, throughout their complaint, the Republican plaintiffs decry issues surrounding voter disenfranchisement. For instance, the plaintiffs alleged that 273 voters’ early ballots were not counted and at least 146 voters were “incorrectly informed that they had already voted and were permitted to complete and submit only a provisional ballot” and “the Maricopa County Defendants failed to tabulate these valid provisional ballots for inclusion in the canvass.” Evidently, this lawsuit is indicative of a notable shift in the GOP’s tenor surrounding voting and elections in which the party that has been championing voter suppression tactics for decades and leading the charge against democracy in more recent years is suddenly lamenting the very anti-voting tactics they have fought so hard to fortify. Despite this apparently hollow and short-lived shift, the RNC is still attempting to declare its preferred candidate the winner even though said candidate received fewer votes, a potential move of election subversion that voters overwhelmingly rejected during the failed “Red Wave.”