Republican Arizona AG candidate Abe Hamadeh’s election lawsuit thrown out

PHOENIX — Republican Arizona Attorney General candidate Abe Hamadeh’s election lawsuit was thrown out Friday in Mohave County, clearing the way for Democrat Kris Mayes to take the position pending the outcome of an ongoing recount.

Mohave County Judge Lee Jantzen told lawyers for Hamadeh that they didn’t have sufficient evidence to overturn the result of the Nov. 8 election.

“The bottom line is you haven’t proven your case,” Jantzen said.

The suit aimed to block certification of the result and asked the court to declare Hamadeh the winner of the election.

It outlined problems in Maricopa County on Election Day, notably with ballot printers that produced about 17,000 ballots that could not be tabulated on site and had to be counted at the elections department headquarters.

Lines backed up at some polling places, fueling Republican suspicions that some supporters were unable to cast a ballot, though there’s no evidence it affected the outcome.

County officials say everyone was able to vote and all legal ballots were counted.

Hamadeh lost to Mayes by 510 votes. An automatic hand count is ongoing due to the margin of the race.

The recount results were initially scheduled to be released Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Judge Timothy Thomason rescheduled the hearing for 10 a.m. Thursday at the request of Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs.

The motion to delay the hearing was made earlier this week because not all of the counties had finished the recount process.

Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s election lawsuit is ongoing.

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