by Cole Lauterbach
The state chapter of the Republican Party is asking the nation’s highest court to consider its challenge to Arizona’s election results that was summarily rejected by other judges.
In the case, Kelli Ward, Arizona GOP chairwoman and plaintiff, posted a video Friday to Twitter announcing the appeal.
“Our case is going to the Supreme Court of the United States,” Ward said. “We are filing and, hopefully, will have an expedited ‘oomph’ behind us.”
Ward said the case has yet to receive due process.
“It is unconstitutional for us not to have due process, which is time to be able to make a case, do discovery, and hold an entire hearing,” she said.
Ward said the judge who decided the case set unrealistic deadlines, thinking he had to rule on the case by Dec. 8. That’s the “safe harbor” deadline for legal contests to election results in any given state.
Arizona’s Supreme Court had ruled unanimously against Ward, saying the GOP legal team failed to show sufficient examples of voter fraud that would have justified further scrutiny of ballots than they’d already conducted. That ruling was after the GOP was accused of “forum shopping” in a lower court ruling that denied their request to decertify the election and seize election equipment.
The appeal is different from another challenge to Arizona’s elections, labeled the “Kraken” case. The U.S. Supreme Court is also mulling an election challenge from Texas that’s challenging the election results in four other swing states.
The Electoral College is scheduled to cast their votes for president on Monday. Ward has said in previous videos that the safe harbor deadline and casting of Electoral College votes don’t matter as much as when Congress tallies electoral votes in the first week in January.
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Cole Lauterbach reports on Illinois and Arizona government and statewide issues for The Center Square. He has produced radio shows for stations in Central Illinois and created award-winning programs for Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
