Arizona AG Republican candidate Hamadeh files lawsuit over election results
Nov 23, 2022, 6:07 AM | Updated: 6:36 pm
(Twitter Photo/@AbrahamHamadeh)
(Twitter Photo/@AbrahamHamadeh)
PHOENIX — Republican candidate for Arizona attorney general Abe Hamadeh filed a lawsuit Tuesday over the outcome of the 2022 elections.
Hamadeh, along with the Republican National Committee, filed a 25-page complaint naming all county recorders and boards of supervisors in the state.
The complaint alleges errors in the Nov. 8 general election, citing election board misconduct, the tallying of unlawful ballots and inaccurate counting of votes.
“The voters of Arizona demand answers and deserve transparency about the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the general election by certain election officials,” Hamadeh said in a press release.
“Pervasive errors by our election officials resulted in the disenfranchisement of countless Arizonans who had their voices silenced. Arizonans deserve to have an election system that is transparent and fair and right now we have neither.”
His Democratic opponent Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs were also named in the suit.
Arizonans demand answers and deserve transparency about the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the General Election by certain election officials. I will not stop fighting until ALL voters receive justice.
See you in court. pic.twitter.com/5jJ6WWt8IK
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) November 23, 2022
In a statement sent by Hamadeh’s campaign office, the incorrect vote counts were due to the lack of poll worker training in Maricopa County and/or misleading comments from Supervisor Bill Gates on the steps for checking voters out of polling places after ballot reader malfunctions.
The lawsuit comes after two Republican-controlled counties delayed certifying the results of the election.
Mohave County voted Monday to delay certifying the results as a protest against the voting issues in the state’s largest county, which had problems at about 40% of its vote centers on Election Day.
Republican leaders of Cochise County also delayed their election canvass last week and said they would not sign off unless they got proof their vote-counting machines are certified.
The race for attorney general will head into an automatic full recount – Hamadeh and Mayes finished separated by 510 votes.
State certification is scheduled for Dec. 5. Once that is done, the recount will follow.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
