Maricopa County Judge Tosses Out Arizona GOP Lawsuit

PHOENIX, AZ — A Maricopa County judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the Arizona Republican Party that would have required the county to perform an additional vote audit and would have pushed back the date for vote certification.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John R. Hannah Jr. granted a motion from Maricopa County officials to dismiss the case Thursday afternoon, one day after hearing oral arguments from both parties.

"It is ordered the motions to dismiss, by the Maricopa County defendants and the intervenors Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Arizona Democratic Party, are granted," he wrote in his decision. "The plaintiff’s Verified Complaint will be dismissed with prejudice."

He also denied the plaintiff's efforts to block Maricopa County from certifying the election results. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has scheduled a meeting for 3:30 p.m. Friday to certify them. Arizona is due to certify its votes Nov. 30.

President-elect Joe Biden has been projected to win Arizona's 11 Electoral College votes. When vote counting ended, Biden was leading President Donald Trump by over 10,000 votes. A recount in Arizona is only triggered if the difference between two candidates is 0.1 percentage points, or 200 votes or less.

The Republican Party's lawsuit revolved around an audit of a sampling of ballots that is required to test the accuracy of tabulated results. Maricopa County has already completed the audit and said no discrepancies were found, and that claims of fraud are unfounded.

The GOP wanted the sample counted by precinct instead of the audit that was conducted of the voting centers, which let people vote anywhere in the county.

Clint Hickman, a Republican who chairs the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said in a letter to voters Tuesday that there was no evidence of fraud, misconduct or malfunction.

“It is time to dial back the rhetoric, rumors, and false claims,” Hickman wrote.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, has called on Republican leaders to halt "disinformation" regarding the election. Hobbs said in a statement Wednesday that she and her family have received threats of violence.

“It is well past time that they stop. Their words and actions have consequences,” Hobbs said. “Now, I am calling on other leaders in this state, including the governor whose deafening silence has contributed to the growing unrest, to stand up for the truth.”

Gov. Doug Ducey said in a news conference that he believed in the integrity of Arizona's elections but declined to call Biden the winner in Arizona until all court challenges had been played out. He did, however, tell reporters that threats won’t be tolerated and that the Arizona Department of Public Safety is allocating resources to protect Hobbs and her family.

A prior lawsuit brought by the Trump campaign against Maricopa County was also rejected by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge. The state has no other outstanding election lawsuits.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.