JUST IN: Arizona Supreme Court Unanimously Rules With Republicans In 2020 Case

The Arizona Supreme Court issued a unanimous verdict on Thursday, siding with the Arizona Republican Party (ARP) in a pivotal legal battle stemming from the 2020 elections. The ruling overturned previous decisions by a trial court and the Arizona Court of Appeals, which had mandated that the ARP and its attorneys pay legal fees for the defense mounted by the state.

The lawsuit initiated by the ARP contested the procedures used in the post-election hand-count of ballots in Maricopa County, arguing that the process did not align with statutory requirements. The courts below had ruled against the ARP, labeling the lawsuit as groundless and in bad faith, thereby imposing legal fees as a penalty. However, the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision paints a different picture.

The justices found that the lawsuit was neither frivolous nor initiated in bad faith, effectively vacating the penalties imposed earlier. The opinion, authored by Justice Lopez, articulated that the claims were substantive enough to merit judicial consideration, free from the motivations ascribed by the lower courts. The core of the Supreme Court’s opinion centered on the interpretation of state election law and the manual recount procedures that followed the 2020 general election. The ARP had raised concerns over the inclusion of voting centers instead of precincts in the hand count—a method stipulated by the Arizona Secretary of State’s election procedures manual but contested as contrary to state law.

Justice Lopez, in the detailed ruling, noted, “We hold that the attorney fees award was improper because Petitioners’ claim was not groundless, thus obviating any need to determine whether the claim was made in the absence of good faith.”

“By sanctioning parties and their lawyers for bringing debatable, long-shot complaints, courts risk chilling legal advocacy and citizens raising ‘questions’ under the guise of defending the rule of law,” Justice Lopez wrote. “Even if done inadvertently and with the best of intentions, such sanctions present a real and present danger to the rule of law.”

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The Arizona Republican Party welcomed the decision with a statement given to the Arizona Mirror: “This ruling reaffirms the fundamental legal principle that raising questions about the interpretation and application of election laws is a legitimate use of the judicial system, not a groundless or bad faith action. We remain committed to ensuring that election laws are followed precisely, upholding the integrity of our electoral process.”

More than a week after the 2020 election, the lawsuit was initiated, claiming that Arizona’s state law mandating limited post-election hand-count audits was at odds with the state’s Elections Procedures Manual. The legal battle was the alleged illegality of selecting ballots for audit from voting centers rather than by traditional precinct divisions. Arizona’s statutes necessitate that each county must perform a hand count on 1% of all early ballots and additionally, ballots from 2% of precincts following each election.

The unanimous decision by the three-judge appeals panel revealed the initial aim of the AZGOP to contest the hand-count audit procedures, which was later abandoned in a strategic move to prevent Maricopa County from certifying its election results, thus exposing the lawsuit’s underlying intent. The established criterion now mandates that a claim must be evidently baseless, with the plaintiff either recognizing its lack of merit or showing apathy towards the truth, yet continuing to advance it.

The decision comes at a time when election integrity continues to be a hot-button issue across the United States. By setting aside the lower courts’ rulings, the Arizona Supreme Court has reaffirmed the legal avenues available for parties to challenge election procedures.

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