By Camila Pedrosa/Cronkite News
A voters’ advocacy group said it will appeal a Maricopa County judge’s decision to dismiss its lawsuit that sought to ban three GOP lawmakers from the ballot for their support of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury said his Friday ruling “neither validates nor disproves” the claim that U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar and Arizona Rep. Mark Finchem engaged in insurrection – only that the voters did not have standing to challenge their qualification for the ballot on those grounds.
Biggs, R-Gilbert, on Friday welcomed the dismissal of what he called a “frivolous” lawsuit aimed at “political harassment.” And in a statement Sunday, Gosar, R-Bullhead City, called the claims “abusive” and praised Coury as a “good judge who understands the law and the rules.”
But Free Speech for People, the voting rights organization that backed the lawsuit, called the ruling “contrary to the law” and said it will appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court.
“Arizona is not exempted from the mandate of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” the group said in a statement. “A candidate who has taken an oath of office and then engaged in insurrection has no place on a future Arizona ballot.”
Protesters march down the National Mall from a Jan. 6, 2021, Trump rally to the Capitol, where rioters subsequently overpowered police and occupied the building. Photo courtesy Justice Department
Arizona’s primary election is not until Aug. 2, but counties must mail out the first ballots on June 18, leaving only about six weeks for the courts to determine if the three lawmakers should be on or off the ballot. An official with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office said Monday that the office is waiting on direction from the county attorney’s office following last week’s ruling.
