Decide guidelines towards GOP nominee for Arizona lawyer normal who has sued to reverse the outcomes
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An Arizona judge on Friday ruled from the bench against Abe Hamadeh, the unsuccessful Republican nominee for attorney general who claimed improper assessment of ballots and other mistakes cost him the election and who asked to be declared the winner to become.
Hamadeh lost to Democrat Kris Mayes by 511 votes, a narrow margin that triggered an automatic recount, the results of which are expected later this month. But the verdict against Hamadeh in his lawsuit all but guarantees Mayes’ inauguration next year.
Judge Lee F. Jantzen of the Mohave County Superior Court told Hamadeh’s attorney Timothy La Sota, “You just haven’t proved your case.”
At the end of the day-long trial, La Sota conceded that he had no evidence of error or wrongdoing affecting a sufficient number of votes to change the results, and instead asked the judge to simply adjust the vote count to reflect 14 ballots , which he claimed was due to decision errors in question. The judge refused to do so, saying it was outside the court’s jurisdiction to decide an election campaign.
Mayes welcomed the ruling, saying in a statement, “The will of Arizona voters will not be undermined.” She predicted the mandatory recount would not change the outcome of the election and said she was ready to begin her job as attorney general . Meanwhile, Hamadeh argued on Twitter that the terms of the trial were unfair.
In closing arguments, attorneys for Mayes and the Secretary of State’s office convicted La Sota of bringing forward a case they believed to be frivolous. Dan Barr, an attorney for Mayes, said he would ask the court to impose sanctions on Hamadeh’s attorney.
In 37 years as a lawyer, Barr said he “never got involved in such a colossal waste of time as this case.”
“The judiciary and the bar association must come forward and sanction this behavior,” he added. “It’s gone too far for too long.”
Andy Gaona, a lawyer for the foreign minister, called the process a “spectacular waste of time.”
For his part, La Sota acknowledged before the judge’s verdict that he hadn’t proved his point, saying of election campaigns, “They often don’t succeed.” He said he might have done better if he’d had more time to gather evidence. He said he showed certain errors in the voting decision and claims it is of public value to bring such a case to inspire confidence in the results.
“We have made a good faith complaint,” La Sota told the court.
Republican COO candidates lost key statewide races in the 2022 midterm elections, even as COO ranks in Congress swelled. (Video: JM Rieger/Washington Post)
A two-day campaign trial brought by Kari Lake, the unsuccessful GOP nominee for governor, in Maricopa County ended Thursday. The judge in this case has yet to decide. A judge last week dismissed a lawsuit filed by Mark Finchem, the defeated GOP nominee for secretary of state.
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