Judge tosses another election challenge, orders Hamadeh to pay fees

PHOENIX — A judge tossed the latest bid by Abe Hamadeh and others to decertify the results of the 2022 election, order it rerun in Maricopa County and declare that Kris Mayes is holding the office of attorney general illegally.

And now Hamadeh and his attorney are on the hook for paying the legal fees of the state and county officials he sued.

In an extensive ruling made public Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Susanna Pineda said there is no legal basis for claims by the failed Republican contender for attorney general that Maricopa County improperly included some early ballots in its count of the 2022 election.

Hamadeh and attorney Ryan Heath claimed the results of the election were “uncertain’’ because he lost by just 280 votes, and they sought a declaration that Mayes “has usurped, intruded into or unlawfully holds or exercises the public office of attorney general.’’ They wanted the judge to order the state to install Hamadeh as attorney general, “an office to which petitioner is personally entitled.’’

Pineda wrote that Hamadeh’s claim is based on his contention that early ballots can be counted only if the signatures on the outside match the voter’s “registration form.’’ But she said the Elections Procedures Manual allows signature verification to be based on the voter’s “registration record.’’

The judge said while that isn’t defined, the manual suggests that means far more than the actual signature when someone first signs up. The record also includes signatures from voting rosters when people cast ballots in person and affidavits from envelopes from earlier elections, all of which are digitized.

There’s an even bigger problem with Hamadeh’s claim, Pineda said.

“Challenges concerning alleged procedural violations of the election process must be brought prior to the actual election,’’ the judge wrote.

She pointed out that Maricopa County had announced its ballot verification plans on May 1, 2022, six months before the election. The judge said if Hamadeh had a problem with the procedure he should have brought it then.

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“By filing his action after the completion of the election, petitioner asks the court to overturn the will of the people, as expressed in the 2022 election,’’ Pineda said.

The judge also took issue with Hamadeh and Heath for using a process known as “quo warranto,’’ an action seeking a declaration that someone is holding office illegally. That is a legitimate procedure — but one that, generally speaking, only can be brought by a person claiming to be the rightful officeholder.

“The person claiming title to the office must show that he is entitled to the office,’’ the judge said.

But in this case, she said, what Hamadeh sought actually was reverification of the 2022 Maricopa County mail-in ballots after “purging’’ allegedly improper signature comparisons. Or, in the alternative, she said, he sought a new election.

“He surmises, without proof, that he received the most ‘legal votes’ for the office of attorney general,’’ Pineda said. “That is insufficient to obtain the relief sought.’’

Hamadeh said he is still not giving up. “Arizonans deserve accountability for the extreme failures in our election in November 2022,’’ he said in a written statement, saying he will be “assessing our options with our legal team for this case.’’

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, however, called the ruling a “complete victory for the county in the umpteenth Hamadeh lawsuit.’’