Almost two months after hearing oral arguments to determine whether Abe Hamadeh should be awarded a new trial in his election contest, Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee F. Jantzen denied the request on Friday. Hamadeh’s legal team requested the retrial based on discovering evidence that was withheld from them during the first trial; “undervotes” discovered in Pinal County that were erroneously not counted. The new votes shrunk Kris Mayes’ lead to only 280 votes. It is the closest statewide race in Arizona history.
Jantzen said in the short ruling that he will be issuing his full reasoning behind the decision on Monday by noon, stating that it was a “close call in a close contest.” Hamadeh responded in a statement, “[W]e believe the situation is very simple: the contest was not as close as it stands now. If all legal votes are counted, I win this race for attorney general.”
He said he will be appealing all the way to the Arizona Supreme Court.
“Taking on this legal challenge is the greatest honor of my life,” he said. “Free and fair elections matter. When we vote, the results should be accurate.”
Then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs withheld evidence of the undervotes from the public and Hamadeh’s team until after Hamadeh’s election contest trial concluded on December 22, 2022. After hearing about the undervotes, Hamadeh’s team investigated and discovered that as many as 76,339 votes may not have been counted throughout the state.
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times