Republican state senators are suing to get access to Maricopa County voting equipment and materials before the end of the month.

 Matt York / The Associated Press

PHOENIX — Republican state senators are going on the legal offensive in their bid to get access to Maricopa County voting equipment and materials — and to do so ahead of the date Congress is set to ratify that Arizona’s electoral votes go to Joe Biden.

A new lawsuit asks Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner to order the county to produce everything in two subpoenas issued by Senate no later than Dec. 29.

The senators’ attorney, Kory Langhofer, figures that whichever side loses in front of Warner is likely to seek review by the Arizona Supreme Court. And that could take at least a day or two, at best.

Vice President Mike Pence told a group of young conservatives in Florida that the President's administration plans to keep fighting the election "until every legal vote is counted" and "until every illegal vote is thrown out."

The real goal is having the case fully resolved — and, if the senators get their way, the documents and equipment reviewed and audited — before Jan. 6.

That’s the day Congress is set to review the Electoral College vote, in which, under the state’s certified election results, Biden gets Arizona’s 11 votes.

But if the Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee concludes there was something amiss in the Maricopa County ballot counting, that could provide fodder for either legislative action or a move in Congress by some supporters of President Trump to reject the official tally and instead award the state’s electoral votes to the incumbent.

The official tally shows that Biden won Arizona by 10,457 votes. In Maricopa County, he bested the president by about 45,000 votes.

The new lawsuit comes as committee chairman Sen. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, continues to say the purpose of the two subpoenas is not to influence the outcome of the election.

He said the committee just wants to get to the bottom of various rumors and reports that the ballots were not properly counted, whether through human error or problems with the Dominion Voting Systems hardware or software. That is one of the oversight roles the Legislature plays, Farnsworth said.

He also said what the audit finds could form the basis for changes in state election laws and procedures for future years.

“It’s not designed to” undo the 2020 election results, Farnsworth said. “But I told you all along if it comes out that there’s fraud, then this election somebody might use that. ... If there’s been fraud, at that point the legislature can decide what to do.”

“There are multiple purposes here,” he said. “But the main one is to reinstill and ensure that we have confidence in the system.”

But not everyone involved in litigation is simply looking for clarity.

Attorneys for the 11 Republicans who would have served as Trump’s electors have filed their own legal papers asking Warner to uphold the subpoenas and order the county to produce what the Judiciary Committee has demanded. And their issues are strictly political.

Those would-be electors have a separate lawsuit pending before the U.S. Supreme Court asking that the justices allow the Republican-controlled Legislature to designate who are the state’s 11 electors “instead of merely accepting the slate certified by (Secretary of State Katie) Hobbs.”

Farnsworth, for his part, said he’s not working with the electors, the Arizona Republican Party or state GOP Chairwoman Kelli Ward. But he said he presumes the results of the audit would be a public record, meaning anyone would then be free to use them in any fashion.

At a hearing Tuesday, Warner said he has questions about whether he even has the authority to order the county to produce what the senators are demanding.

He pointed out that state law already gives the Legislature the power not only to issue subpoenas but also to find people in contempt for failing to comply. That statute allows for someone who refuses to be arrested and jailed.

The hearing before the judge will continue Wednesday, Dec. 23.

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