PHOENIX — A Superior Court judge has dismissed Republican Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem's lawsuit challenging Arizona's election results.
Finchem and Congressional candidate Jeff Zink filed a lawsuit earlier this month to overturn the results of the November election.
In her ruling, Judge Melissa Julian granted Hobbs' motion to dismiss the election contest and confirmed the election of Fontes as Secretary of State.
The lawsuit claimed 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 be unable to read the ballots. However, those issues were fixed on the same day they occurred, and even at the height of the problems, voters had other options available.
Voters could also 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 didn'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.
Although the suit didn't ask that Finchem be declared the winner of his race, it demanded that the vote be "nullified and redone."
The judge dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, which means it was dismissed permanently. A case dismissed with prejudice is over and done with, once and for all, and can't be brought back to court.
Decision 2022
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