PHOENIX — Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Republican attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh, according to court records.
Hamadeh and the Republican National Committee filed the lawsuit on Nov. 22 against his opponent, Democrat Kris Mayes, who holds a 510-vote lead in the race, along with every county recorder in Arizona and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who is now governor-elect.
The lawsuit alleges errors and inaccuracies at some voting centers and seeks to have Hamadeh installed as attorney general.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner said the lawsuit was premature and must be filed after the canvass and declaration of election results have occurred.
Meanwhile, Republican officials in Cochise County refused Monday to certify the 2022 election despite no evidence of anything wrong with the count.
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who narrowly won the race for Arizona's governor, asked a judge on Monday to order Cochise County officials to canvass the election, which she said is an obligation under Arizona law.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Juez desestima demanda de Hamadeh, abogados la llaman ‘prematura’
Monday was the deadline for the election to be certified in all counties in Arizona. Last week state election officials had said a lawsuit would be filed should the deadline not be met.
The legal challenge by Hamadeh states (The plaintiffs) "... are not, by this lawsuit, alleging any fraud, manipulation or other intentional wrongdoing that would impugn the outcomes of the Nov. 8, 2022, general election.
A lawyer for Mayes called the suit premature.
A request to dismiss the complaint filed by Mayes argues, "Plaintiffs Abraham Hamadeh and the Republican National Committee seek from this Court what they could not get at the ballot box."
It also says Hamadeh’s challenge is based on "speculation and conjecture," a "misunderstanding of Arizona's election laws," and amounts to "a fishing expedition" of evidence that does not exist.
The judge dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, which means it could be refiled in the future.
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