Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over AZ Republican Party Election

A Judge in Arizona Dismissed a Lawsuit requesting the Court Intervene in Proceedings over an Arizona Republican Party Election.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge, Michael Kemp, Ruled it was Not the Court's Place to get Involved in an Internal Party Dispute.

Two State Republicans filed a Lawsuit in March after Kelli Ward, the Party's Chairwoman, Won Reelection to the Post, that month, by a margin of 42 Votes.

"Whether or not any chicanery took place in the voting process on January 23, this Court finds that it does not have judicial authority to intervene in an inter-party dispute that is guided by rules and procedures agreed upon by an independent political party," Kemp wrote.

The Two Plaintiffs, William Beard and Sandra Dowling, argued that the Party should hold a Redo Vote due to what they saw as the "significant number of irregularities and general chaos" surrounding the Original Election. The State Party was Opposed to the idea.

Beard and Dowling requested that the Court require the Party to explain its reason for Not holding a Redo and attempted to have the Court provide an Injunction, to keep the Party from Blocking a Meeting among Republican state Committee Members, to Vote on whether to hold a New Election. They claimed that more than 350 Republican State Committee Members had Signed a Petition to Hold the Special Meeting.

In a March statement, Ward Claimed that an Unspecified Number of those Members had Contacted the Party, "claiming that their names are being used without permission by those who lost their elections in January and that any signature from them is fraudulent."

"Superior Courts in Arizona are mindful and supportive of transparency and fair play," Kemp said, adding, "This court also [finds] that judicial intervention would be inappropriate given the available remedies outlined above and the public interest in the independence of political parties from judicial oversight."

"The lawsuit was a distraction, and we’re happy to see it dismissed," Jack Wilenchik, the Attorney representing the State Party.

Beard and Dowling filed Two separate Lawsuits, with an earlier one seeking a Review of the Ballots and Election Records from the January Contest.

Wilenchik said that the Second Lawsuit, the one that asked for an Injunction, was the one that was Dismissed by Kemp. The Attorney argued that the First Lawsuit "is moot because we already allowed them to inspect the ballots (and had offered that even before they sued)."

Kemp also argued that the First Lawsuit would be Subject to Dismissal for the same reason as the Second.

"They don’t seem to be held to account," Tim La Sota, the Attorney for the Activists, sad. "They seem to be able to say, no matter how many signatures were produced, you didn’t have enough and it doesn’t seem there is anything to be done about it."










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