Share
News

Republicans File Lawsuit over Mail-In Ballots in Close Arizona Senate Race

Share

Arizona’s drawn-out Senate election has attracted a lawsuit from Republicans in the state, challenging the procedure for how mail-in ballots are counted.

Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, both U.S. representatives, are in a heated battle to become Arizona’s next senator.

As of Thursday afternoon, McSally had 856,848 votes to Sinema’s 839,775, giving the Republican lawmaker a one-point edge with 99 percent of precincts reporting.

Despite the lead, election forecasters are not ready to declare McSally a winner because of the inordinate amount of mail-in ballots still not counted.

About 75 percent of Arizona voters cast their ballots by mail, and county recorders are only beginning to wade through the 600,000-plus outstanding votes — a process that is expected to take days.

Trending:
Prince Harry Named in Major Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Against Rapper

While Arizona allows for an unusually high number of mail-in ballots, the confirmation for such votes is arduous.

Votes by mail can be opened and counted only after a signature confirmation process is completed. A county is allowed to verify a voter’s identity if there is an issue with their mail-in ballot.

This confirmation process lies at the heart of the GOP lawsuit.

Four county GOP parties are claiming that county recorders are not following a uniform process in verifying mail-in ballots.

Do you think the GOP will win this lawsuit?

They are also alleging two counties are improperly allowing these fixes after Election Day.

The lawsuit seeks to stop the counting of ballots that were verified after the polls closed.

It’s unclear how many of these ballots are in play, but the lawsuit criticizes Arizona’s two most populous counties — where Democrat Sinema holds most of her support — for allowing voters to have as many as five days after the election to clear up any issues with their signatures.

McSally and Sinema are vying to replace outgoing Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, who announced in October 2017 that he would not seek re-election, acknowledging that he was too unpopular to win re-election. McSally, a former Air Force pilot, has campaigned on her military background closeness to President Donald Trump.

Sinema, a former independent who aligned with the Green Party, has been forced to downplay her anti-war past as she’s campaigned in a red-leaning state.

Related:
JPMorgan CEO Who Once Said He Could Beat Trump in an Election Now Admits He's Worried About Former President

The lawsuit is scheduled to be heard on Friday.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , , ,
Share
Founded by Tucker Carlson, a 25-year veteran of print and broadcast media, and Neil Patel, former chief policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, The Daily Caller News Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit providing original investigative reporting from a team of professional reporters that operates for the public benefit. Photo credit: @DailyCaller on Twitter




Conversation