Leading Republicans in the Arizona Legislature, alongside America First Legal (AFL), lodged amicus briefs on Wednesday, throwing their support behind Abraham Hamadeh’s petition to the Arizona Supreme Court for a retrial of his 2022 election contest. Hamadeh is petitioning for a fresh trial citing newly surfaced evidence, purportedly dubious rulings from the presiding Mohave County judge, and an effort to stave off protracted legal disputes over his election that could last well into 2024.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma filed an amicus brief in support of Hamadeh (pictured above) on the same day AFL filed its own. Hamadeh, whose race against Attorney General Kris Mayes was the closest in Arizona history with only 280 votes now stand between the candidates, celebrated the development.
Celebrating the filings on X, formerly Twitter, Hamadeh thanked Warren and Toma for their support, and pledged he “won’t stop fighting until the will of the people is honored” in response to AFL’s brief.
A BIG thank you to @America1stLegal for filing an amicus brief in support of our election lawsuit special action at the Arizona Supreme Court. We won’t stop fighting until the will of the people is honored. Count the votes. pic.twitter.com/3ARHdx4KrP
— Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) August 17, 2023
Petersen told The Arizona Sun Times, “We believe it’s critical that every vote is counted and election laws are followed, especially with such a tight race” in a statement. Peterson clarified, “The Legislature is taking no position on the outcome of this election, only that its laws are properly interpreted and applied.”
AFL Senior Counsel James Rogers cautioned that officials must allow election contests to “make sure that mistakes are fixed, and all lawful votes get counted,” and warned “that can’t happen when election officials hide information from candidates and throw up every possible obstacle to keep them from discovering the truth” in a statement.
Rogers said the nonprofit, whose president is former Trump administration senior advisor Stephen Miller, filed the brief to support “the principle that elections should be fair and election officials should never be playing favorites.”
Hamadeh’s lawyer, Jen Wright, celebrated on X, writing that AFL “did a bang up job on its brief” supporting Hamadeh’s request. “Voter confidence, especially after the maladies of 2022, must be restored through transparency and accountability,” Wright added.
.@America1stLegal did a bang up job on its brief in support of @AbrahamHamadeh's Special Action Petition in @AZCourts.
Voter confidence, especially after the maladies of 2022, must be restored through transparency and accountability.
Praying the Petition is granted.
🧵1/n https://t.co/qEr4sjeqnw— Jen Wright (@JenWEsq) August 17, 2023
She also wrote that Toma and Warren “have been steadfast” in supporting Hamadeh, noting their previous filings in support of his election contest and thanking the men. She stressed that “disenfranchised voters’ voices matter.”
During an appearance on Tucson’s KNST AM 790 with radio host Garret Lewis, Wright said it was “phenomenal” to have briefs from both the Arizona Legislature and AFL “in front of the Supreme Court.” She added that “everyone knows that there’s a great injustice here, and we’re trying to right that and restore voter confidence.”
"It's great. It's phenomenal now to have this in front of the Supreme Court, to have the legislature weigh in & to have @America1stLegal weigh in. Everyone knows that there's a great injustice here & we're trying to right that & restore voter confidence."
– @JenWEsq pic.twitter.com/xhY1dKNPjd
— Abe Hamadeh War Room (@AbeWarRoom) August 17, 2023
Hamadeh filed his request for a new trial earlier this month, alleging that a large number of undervotes, combined with alleged errors on behalf of Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee F. Jantzen and the fact that appeals could mean the election contest continues well into 2024, mean the Supreme Court should intervene to grant a new trial.
Mayes asked the Supreme Court to deny Hamadeh’s request and force Hamadeh to pay the attorney general’s legal fees for the latest effort in her own filing this week. The state Supreme Court has not stated when it will consider Hamadeh’s request.
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Tom Pappert is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Tom on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Abe Hamadeh” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Background Photo “Arizona Supreme Court” by davidpinter. CC BY 3.0.
