ARIZONA NEWS

Arizona Supreme Court upholds election challenge dismissal

Jan 5, 2021, 6:00 PM | Updated: 8:37 pm

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court decision dismissing the last in a series of challenges that sought to decertify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the state.

The high court ruling is the second time the majority-Republican court has turned aside an appeal of a court loss by backers of President Donald Trump seeking to overturn the results of the election. In all, eight lawsuits challenging Biden’s Arizona win have failed. It comes the day before a divided Congress is set to certify Biden’s victory.

Tuesday’s ruling from a four-judge panel of the high court agreed with a trial court judge in Pinal County that plaintiff Staci Burk lacked the right to contest the election. That’s because she wasn’t a registered voter at the time she filed her lawsuit, as required in state election contests. Both courts also agreed that she made her legal challenge too late, after the five-day period for filing such an action had passed.

Burk said in her lawsuit that she was a qualified Arizona voter, but officials said they discovered she wasn’t registered to vote. She later said she mistakenly thought “qualified electors” were people who were merely eligible to vote, and that her voter registration was canceled because election workers were unable to verify her address.

The Supreme Court said the fact that she wasn’t a registered voter was fatal to her ability to file an election challenge and that Burk admitted she knew she wasn’t registered.

“There is nothing before the Court to indicate that Appellant timely contacted the appropriate authorities to correct any problems with her voter registration,” Chief Justice Robert Brutinel wrote. “An election challenge … is not the proper vehicle to reinstate voter registration.”

Biden won the state over Republican President Donald Trump by more than 10,000 votes and the results were certified last month.

The lawsuit brought by Burk, who isn’t a lawyer but represented herself, is nearly identical to a lawsuit dismissed in early December in federal court in Phoenix.

Burk’s lawsuit alleged Arizona’s election systems have security flaws that let election workers and foreign countries manipulate results. Opposing attorneys said the lawsuit used conspiracy theories to make allegations against a voting equipment vendor without any proof to back up claims of widespread election fraud in Arizona.

No evidence of voter or election fraud has emerged in Arizona.

Despite that, Republicans who control the Legislature are pushing to review how Maricopa County, the state’s most populous, ran its election. Two subpoenas issued by the state Senate seeking an audit and to review voting machines, ballots and other materials are being challenged by Maricopa County.

Two of the failed legal challenges focused on the use of Sharpies to complete ballots were dismissed. Another lawsuit in which the Trump campaign sought inspection of ballots was dismissed after the campaign’s lawyer acknowledged the small number of ballots at issue wouldn’t have changed the outcome.

A judge dismissed a lawsuit in which the Arizona Republican Party tried to determine whether voting machines had been hacked.

Then a separate challenge by Arizona GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward was tossed out by a judge who concluded the Republican leader failed to prove fraud and that the evidence presented at trial wouldn’t reverse Trump’s defeat. The state Supreme Court upheld that decision in an earlier ruling.

And a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by conservative lawyer Sidney Powell, who alleged widespread election fraud through the manipulation of voting equipment. Burk’s lawsuit repeated some of Powell’s allegations word-for-word.

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.

Arizona News

Mobile mammography unit offers breast cancer screenings in Valley...

Serena O'Sullivan

Banner Health offers on-the-go breast cancer screenings with mobile mammography unit

Banner Health announced its 3D mobile mammography unit, which will screen Valley women for breast cancer, last week.

58 minutes ago

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons performs onstage during the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Festival at ...

David Veenstra

Imagine Dragons announces ‘Loom’ tour, Phoenix show at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre

Imagine Dragons is bringing the "Loom" tour to Phoenix this fall. The "Radioactive" rockers will make a stop in Phoenix on Oct. 6.

1 hour ago

Exterior and pool at Portico, a luxury condominium development under construction in Scottsdale....

Kevin Stone

Luxury Scottsdale condo development Portico sells out months before opening

Portico, a luxury condominium community under construction in Scottsdale, is fully sold out, developers announced Monday.

1 hour ago

Blossom Rock at Superstition Vistas throws event on Saturday...

Serena O'Sullivan

Grand opening for master-planned community in Apache Junction offers food trucks, music, tours

Brookfield Properties will throw a grand opening event to bring attention to the Blossom Rock at Superstition Vistas community on Saturday.

1 hour ago

A 4-year-old boy died after being pulled from a pool. (Pexels Photo)...

KTAR.com

4-year-old boy dead after being pulled from Mesa pool

A 4-year-old boy has died after he was pulled from a pool in Mesa on Monday evening, according to the Mesa Police Department.

8 hours ago

Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton announced the $1.75 million that will support two water infrastructure...

Serena O'Sullivan

Mesa announces $1.75 million federal investment in 2 water infrastructure projects

The federal government allocated almost $2 million to support Mesa water services, Rep. Greg Stanton announced during a Monday press event.

10 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Midwestern University

Midwestern University Clinics: transforming health care in the valley

Midwestern University, long a fixture of comprehensive health care education in the West Valley, is also a recognized leader in community health care.

...

DISC Desert Institute for Spine Care

Sciatica pain is treatable but surgery may be required

Sciatica pain is one of the most common ailments a person can face, and if not taken seriously, it could become one of the most harmful.

...

Collins Comfort Masters

Here’s 1 way to ensure your family is drinking safe water

Water is maybe one of the most important resources in our lives, and especially if you have kids, you want them to have access to safe water.

Arizona Supreme Court upholds election challenge dismissal