Abe Hamadeh in September 2022. Photo by Gage Skidmore (modified) || Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
GLORIA REBECCA GOMEZ
Arizona Mirror
Abraham Hamadeh, who has unsuccessfully attempted to overturn his 2022 loss three times, is appealing his latest rejection, hoping the courts will reconsider his case after a judge dismissed it last week.
Late Tuesday, the Republican filed a notice of appeal asking the Arizona Court of Appeals to take up his motion for a new trial that was rebuffed by Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen on Friday. Hamadeh, who narrowly lost the 2022 election for attorney general to Democrat Kris Mayes by just 280 votes, pushed for a new trial in January, after a challenge in December failed to provide convincing evidence that his loss was the result of widespread election misconduct.
But, Jantzen said in an explanation of his ruling released on Monday, Hamadeh’s renewed attempt to nullify his loss continues to lack proof, and the time for contesting the 2022 election is over.
Hamadeh contends that a combination of inaccurate ballot verification processes and erroneously rejected ballots resulted in more than 1,000 thwarted votes for his campaign, costing him the office of attorney general. A key part of his bid to rehash the 2022 election in a new trial is that the statewide recount, certified shortly after his December trial ended, revealed counting discrepancies in Pinal County that he argues indicate issues could exist elsewhere in the state.
