Arizona Supreme Court Rules Arizona Republican Party Not Liable for Attorney’s Fees in Post-Election Lawsuit

Arizona Supreme Court rules in favor of Arizona Republican Party in lawsuit challenging post-election hand-count process

In a unanimous ruling on Thursday, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned decisions by lower courts that ordered the Arizona Republican Party to pay attorney’s fees for the Secretary of State’s Office in a lawsuit challenging the post-election hand-count process in 2020.

The lawsuit, filed more than a week after the 2020 election, argued that the state law requiring limited post-election hand-count audits conflicted with the state’s Elections Procedures Manual. The dispute centered around whether ballots for the audit should be selected from voting centers or precincts.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah dismantled the legal arguments made by the AZGOP and its attorneys, stating that the party’s motives were political and aimed at sowing distrust in Arizona’s elections. The appeals court also agreed that the lawsuit was not brought in good faith.

However, the Supreme Court disagreed with the lower courts’ assessments, stating that the lawsuit raised valid questions about the hand-count process under a vote center model and whether the Elections Procedures Manual conflicted with state law. The court emphasized the importance of allowing citizens and their attorneys to seek to vindicate their rights without fear of sanctions.

The ruling sets a new standard for determining whether a claim is made in good faith, stating that a claim must be both groundless and pursued with knowledge of its groundlessness or indifference to that fact. This approach aims to avoid conflating subjective motives with the objective reasonableness of litigation conduct.

The Arizona Republican Party welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, stating that it vindicated their efforts to ensure the integrity of the election process. The ruling serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding the rule of law while allowing for legitimate legal challenges to be heard.