PHOENIX — Republican Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem and Congressional candidate Jeff Zink filed a lawsuit Friday to overturn the results of the November election.
The lawsuit claims that Maricopa County "failed miserably" in holding a fair and secure election, mostly focusing on technical issues at some polling locations.
On Election Day, roughly 31% of polling places faced printer issues that caused some tabulators to not be able to read the ballots. However, those issues were fixed on the same day that they occurred and even at the height of the problems, voters had other options available.
Voters were also able to cast their ballot in the on-site "Box 3" drop-off. Despite Finchem's claim that "these black box votes were likely never counted," Maricopa County has used this method for decades without evidence of widespread failure.
Finchem also attacked governor-elect Katie Hobbs for not recusing herself of her duties as secretary of state during the election. The lawsuit claimed that "recusal would cause her to lose control of the election she hoped to directly benefit from."
What the lawsuit doesn't mention is that it's standard for election officials to maintain their position while running for a higher office. In Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp won the 2018 gubernatorial race that he oversaw, the Associated Press reported.
The lawsuit's introduction closes by referring to the results of Arizona's 2022 election as a "comical and tragic outcome." Although the suit doesn't ask that Finchem be declared the winner of his race, it demands that the vote be "nullified and redone."
At this time, it remains to be seen how far this suit will go in Arizona's courts.
The full lawsuit can be found below:
More lawsuits
Also on Friday, Kari Lake filed another lawsuit Friday aimed at overturning the state's November election after her failed campaign for Arizona governor.
The lawsuit targets Lake's opponent, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Maricopa County election officials, and claims voters were disenfranchised and officials failed to do their jobs.
Lake's suit asks, among things, that she is made governor of Arizona. Failing that, the suit says, the gubernatorial election in Maricopa County be held again.
Meanwhile, Abe Hamadeh filed his second lawsuit on Friday, hours before Lake.
The Republican candidate for Arizona's attorney general said in a tweet Friday that he's contesting the November election and asking to be named the winner.
The state's attorney general race was the closest statewide competition this election cycle. The final tally placed Democrat Kris Mayes ahead of Hammadeh by 510 votes triggering a recount still underway.
Hamadeh's second lawsuit is nearly identical to the first, asking for a stop to the recount, allowing people who refused provisional ballots the opportunity to cast ballots now and requiring Maricopa County to provide physical ballots. It also asks for Hamadeh to be named the winner of the race.
Decision 2022
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