Arizona election denier gears up for appeal after being smacked down by the courts 3 times

Late Tuesday, the Republican filed a notice of appeal asking the Arizona Court of Appeals to take up his motion for a new trial that was rebuffed by Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen on Friday. Hamadeh, who narrowly lost the 2022 election for attorney general to Democrat Kris Mayes by just 280 votes, pushed for a new trial in January, after a challenge in December failed to provide convincing evidence that his loss was the result of widespread election misconduct.

But, Jantzen said in an explanation of his ruling released on Monday, Hamadeh’s renewed attempt to nullify his loss continues to lack proof, and the time for contesting the 2022 election is over.

Hamadeh contends that a combination of inaccurate ballot verification processes and erroneously rejected ballots resulted in more than 1,000 thwarted votes for his campaign, costing him the office of attorney general. A key part of his bid to rehash the 2022 election in a new trial is that the statewide recount, certified shortly after his December trial ended, revealed counting discrepancies in Pinal County that he argues indicate issues could exist elsewhere in the state.

The same recount that identified 507 more votes in Pinal County — which were added to the final tally but were still insufficient to net Hamadeh a win — didn’t find similarly egregious problems in any other county.

Republican Arizona State Rep. Alexander Kolodin, one of eight attorneys representing Hamadeh, said that Hamadeh’s claims should be given their day in court, despite Jantzen’s skepticism.

“(Jantzen’s) not really aware what documents have been gathered besides what’s been explained to him in the briefs,” he told the Mirror. “It’s hard to understand how saying that, if you open the envelopes and count the votes that have not been counted, that it would not be sufficient proof. Obviously, you open the envelopes and you count the votes and you see: does it change the announced result?”

Hamadeh’s attorneys have repeatedly petitioned the court to allow for more ballots to be examined to bolster their arguments, but Jantzen dismissed that request on Friday by citing state laws around election challenges, which strictly limit ballot inspections. That opportunity, Jantzen added, was already given in Hamadeh’s December trial, when attorneys were permitted to look through more than 2,000 ballots and ultimately presented just 14 as evidence during the trial, only six of which should have, allegedly, counted towards Hamadeh.

The notice of appeal leaves open the possibility of circumventing the state appeals court to petition the Arizona Supreme Court directly, via a special action or emergency transfer. That strategy was employed twice this year by failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. The state Supreme Court judges punted the issue back to the lower court after her first try and have not yet responded to her second.

Before either court can decide to take up the case however, Jantzen must first rule on a sanctions request and an argument on how much to compensate ballot inspectors who participated in the December trial. Attorney General Kris Mayes argued that Hamadeh, his lawyers and the other plaintiffs involved in his challenge, two Mohave county residents and the Republican National Committee, should be required to pay double damages and attorneys fees.

Under state law, cases brought to court without a substantial justification or that unreasonably delay proceedings, among other criteria, are subject to a double damages fine of $5,000.

Kolodin, however, doubts that sanctions are in Hamadeh’s future, pointing to Jantzen’s lengthy consideration of the motion for a new trial and admission that it was an extremely narrow race.

“Let’s be honest here,” he said. “The judge’s ruling says this is a close question in a close race. This is not a case where sanctions are going to be on the table.”

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