(The Center Square) – In anticipation of post-election challenges, the Arizona Supreme Court issued an executive order on Tuesday requiring Superior Court judges to move litigation involving the 2024 general election to the front of their dockets.
Additionally, the court set a deadline for when appeals relating to presidential elector contests, stating that appellable judgment has to be entered by 1 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2024, a little under two weeks before the electoral college records its votes for the presidential and vice presidential races.
“Giving judicial priority to such statutory proceedings is of heightened importance in a presidential election,” reads the order filed by Justice Ann Timmer.
The court also ordered that each county superior court must be available to receive facts from election officials requiring a recount. Additionally, they must also be available to issue related orders.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes released a statement in support following the release of this decision.
“This administrative order is a proactive step to ensure that our elections process remains unimpeded by unnecessary delays,” Fontes said. “The Supreme Court has effectively set a precedent that escalates resolution of cases involving our presidential electors.”
Additionally, the Secretary of State’s Office has been working to launch educational campaigns to enhance the courts’ “understanding and handling of elector-related disputes judiciously,” reads the statement.
This decision comes after Arizona faced numerous election result challenges following the 2020 presidential election and the 2022 midterm elections. One of the most popular cases has been Arizona’s “fake electors” case.
In April, a grand jury indicted 11 Arizona Republicans and seven other individuals that were aides to former President Donald Trump of allegedly forging a document denying the 2020 presidential election, claiming that Trump had won Arizona, when in fact he lost to President Joe Biden by 10,457 votes, and sent the statement to the National Archives. At this time, only two individuals have resolved their cases, with the others all pleading not-guilty.
Kari Lake and Abe Hamadeh each brought litigation regarding their 2022 electoral results.
Lake lost to Democratic candidate and now governor, Katie Hobbs. Following the certification of the results, Lake filed numerous lawsuits. Lake filed her initial lawsuit Dec. 9, 2022 against Hobbs (in her former capacity as Secretary of State), saying that there were illegal votes cast during the midterm elections due to “failures” and “chaos” in Maricopa County voting centers on election day. She stated that the election should be rerun in Maricopa County or she should be declared the winner.
The case has continued over the past two years with multiple appeals and has yet to reach a conclusion after Lake filed a petition in July asking the Arizona Supreme Court to review the case.
Hamadeh lost to current Attorney General Kris Mayes in the 2022 election. Hamadeh filed a lawsuit Nov. 22, 2022 stating that he won the election even though the certified results stated that he lost by about 500 votes. He stated that some mail-in ballots were not counted and that some voters were “incorrectly informed that they had already voted and were permitted to complete and submit only a provisional ballot.”
This case was dismissed only to be followed by further litigation until July 2024 when a judge dismissed the case, saying it was untimely.
This year, Lake is running for Arizona U.S. Senate seat, and Hamadeh is running for U.S. Representative in Arizona's 8th Congressional District.
“By setting a firm deadline for appeals, the Supreme Court has made certain that all electoral disputes are resolved ahead of Electoral College deadlines, maintaining Arizona’s commitment to safe, fair, and secure elections,” reads Fontes’ statement.
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