Democrats have spent years saying that any mention of election irregularities is a dangerous conspiracy. But that narrative was just shattered.
And now Democrats have nowhere to hide after being smacked with this election lawsuit.
Republicans didn’t have the greatest showing during the Midterms, but, as it turns out, that may not be entirely their fault.
In states like Arizona, voting centers were marred with scandal for the enormous number of problems they faced on election night.
Unsurprisingly, the issues that took place just so happened to help Democrats in their elections.
And Democrats are in hot water now thanks to Republicans suing them for their complicit actions on election night.
Republican Arizona attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh and the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a lawsuit Tuesday against his Democratic opponent Kris Mayes, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in her official capacity, and county officials, alleging that problems at some voting locations influenced the outcome of the race.
According to the lawsuit filed in Arizona Superior Court in Maricopa County, certain election staff allegedly handled problems relating to ballot tabulation at polling centers inappropriately, while some early ballots were counted despite lacking a correct signature on their envelopes.
It claims the election was “afflicted with certain errors and inaccuracies in the management of some polling place operations, and in the processing and tabulation of some ballots.”
The lawsuit went on to note that with such slim margins of victory for Democrats, these errors could have swayed the election.
“The cumulative effect of these mistakes is material to the race for Arizona Attorney General, where the candidates are separated by just 510 votes out of more than 2.5 million ballots cast-a margin of two one-hundredths of one percent (0.02%),” the lawsuit reads.
Mayes’ less than 0.5% lead over Hamadeh means the race will be subject to an automatic recount following election certification on December 5, according to KOLD.
Many Maricopa County voters’ ballots were rejected by malfunctioning vote tabulators, according to the lawsuit, and some of those voters spoilt their ballots by going to another polling location or presenting a previously issued early ballot.
According to the lawsuit, poll workers reportedly refused or failed to check at least some of those voters out of e-poll books as required by law, and the e-poll books incorrectly registered them as having already voted.
Maricopa County officials have defended the integrity of their election; on Nov. 9, the county’s main Twitter account claimed that an issue with printers the day before had affected an estimated 17,000 ballots across 70 voting centers, with tabulators unable to read some ballots due to a lack of dark enough timing marks.
According to the story, on Election Day, “most Vote Centers experienced no printer issues,” and the County Elections Department “gave voters the freedom to cast their ballot at any one of 223 locations.”
The lawsuit went on to claim certain poll workers allegedly refused to deliver provisional votes to specific Maricopa County voters, some of whom had spoiled a previous ballot at a separate polling place. When an e-poll book indicates that someone has already voted, state law allows them to a provisional ballot if they affirm their eligibility, and the lawsuit accuses the Maricopa County defendants of malfeasance through their election boards.
In a recent memo by attorney Mark Sonnenklar, he said roving attorneys for the RNC’s Election Integrity program in Maricopa County visited 115 of the county’s voting sites on Election Day. According to the document, 62% of those who attended the centers experienced “material problems with the tabulators not being able to tabulate ballots.”
The lawsuit also claims that some counties’ Electronic Adjudication Boards “incorrectly recorded a material number of voter selections” in the attorney general race. It accuses county defendants of “erroneously designating or mischaracterizing voters’ manifested intent on certain electronically adjudicated ballots.”
“Arizonans demand answers and deserve transparency about the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the General Election by certain election officials,” Hamadeh tweeted Wednesday, announcing the lawsuit. “I will not stop fighting until ALL voters receive justice. See you in court.”
Hobbs is expected to have defeated Republican Kari Lake in Arizona’s governor’s election, but Lake has refused to concede.
