Judge Issues Ruling on Republicans' Emergency Request to Keep Polls Open Amid Voting Machine Chaos
Arizona Republicans had one loss Tuesday before the votes were even counted, and the whole country is watching.
A judge Tuesday evening denied an emergency motion filed by the Republican National Committee to extend voting hours in Arizona’s most populous county after technical problems plagued voting sites, according to KTAR-FM.
“By preventing voters from obtaining and casting a ballot within a reasonable period of time, these pervasive tabulator malfunctions have effectively truncated the 13 hour voting period secured by state law,” the lawsuit alleged.
The judge in the case wasn’t buying it, Fox News reported.
“The court does not have evidence there was a voter who was precluded the right to vote from what was presented,” the judge said, according to Fox.
BREAKING: Judge rules polls closed at 7 p.m. in Maricopa County, Ariz., denying Lake’s, Masters’ and the RNC’s lawsuit to move the deadline to 10 p.m. following polling site issues – KSAZ
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 9, 2022
Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Republican Kari Lake, who is battling Democrat Katie Hobbs for governor, and Republican Blake Masters, who is trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.
A Masters’ campaign lawyer argued that the election snafu was critical.
“It’s entirely possible this issue” could determine “our governor for the next four years, and the majority control of the United States Senate,” the lawyer said, according to Fox.
“If the margin of victory or loss is so close that it could determine the outcome, then we’ll come back to you, and we’ll argue about what to do about these ballots.”
The problem became evident almost immediately after voting opened on Tuesday, adding an element of chaos to Arizona elections that were already being closely watched across the country because the outcome could determine control of the U.S. Senate.
Tuesday afternoon, county election officials announced the source of the problem — printer settings in tabulation machines at the voting sites had been set incorrectly.
.@maricopavote has identified the solution for the tabulation issues at about 60 Vote Centers. County technicians have changed the printer settings, which seems to have resolved this issue. It appears some of the printers were not producing dark enough timing marks on ballots. 1/
— Maricopa County (@maricopacounty) November 8, 2022
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced the motion Tuesday evening.
The widespread issues – in an election administered by Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs – are completely unacceptable, especially as Republicans flock to the polls to vote in-person on Election Day. (2/3)
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) November 8, 2022
“The widespread issues — in an election administered by Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs — are completely unacceptable, especially as Republicans flock to the polls to vote in-person on Election Day,” McDaniel wrote in a Twitter post.
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