PHOENIX — A Senate panel will hold hearings on the just-completed election with an eye on answering questions of whether it was conducted fairly and legally.
But the hearing authorized by Senate President Karen Fann won’t be the kind demanded by some House Republicans, led by Reps. Mark Finchem of Oro Valley and Kelly Townsend of Mesa, who want to immediately issue subpoenas for officials to testify and orders to seize election equipment for examination.
In fact, they won’t have a role, as the meeting will consist entirely of senators and the people they ask to testify.
They also can’t show up to protest: The event will be conducted entirely online as the Senate building is closed amid concerns of COVID-19 spread.
Lawsuit loss being appealed
The plan comes as attorneys for the state’s 11 would-be Republican electors asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday to overturn Wednesday’s decision by a federal judge here. Judge Diane Humetewa tossed out their multi-faceted complaint alleging fraud, misconduct and other irregularities in the Nov. 3 election.
Humetewa said they not only failed to present evidence but lacked legal standing to challenge the results awarding the state’s electoral votes to Democrat Joe Biden.
The appeal could prove little more than academic.
The appellate judges said they want opening briefs by March 23, and to give Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs until April 21 to respond.
However, there’s a move now to take the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court to expedite it.
Meanwhile, a Pinal County judge has scheduled a hearing for Friday, Dec. 11, on a bid by Staci Burk, a former member of the Gilbert school board, to void the election results and require Ducey and Hobbs to decertify the returns.
But the chances of that going to trial are slim as Burk, who is representing herself, has essentially filed a carbon copy of the lawsuit just dismissed by Humetewa.
That may leave only the Senate hearing as the sole venue to air election questions.
vote to overturn results off the table
“There is no agenda,” said Fann, a Prescott Republican.
“A lot of our constituents have a lot of questions about how the voting, the electoral system works, the security of it, the validity of it,” she said.
“So we need to ask some questions and have somebody go through the process with us of what was done, how it was done, why it was done — and what else could we do to verify the votes were correct and accurate.”
While Fann said there is no agenda, she acknowledged that one thing is off the table — having the Republican-controlled Legislature vote to overturn the results, a move that would allow lawmakers to select their own slate of electors.
Some of that is strictly practical: The 11 electors pledged to Biden are due to formally cast their ballots on Monday, Dec. 14. But there’s more.
“Given current legal advice, there’s nothing the legislative body can do,” Fann said.
Legal counsel said that option was precluded three years ago when lawmakers approved a measure spelling out that electors are required to cast their votes for the candidate who received the most votes according to the official statewide election canvass. The lawyers said while lawmakers are free to change the law for future elections, they cannot do so retroactively.
Fann acknowledged there are others who argue it’s not too late to overturn the results, even if the electors cast their votes as scheduled on Monday.
The Electoral College tally is not final until Jan. 6 when Congress meets to formally approve the vote.
And there are those who argue federal lawmakers could decide not to accept the results from states where the outcome might be clouded by allegations of fraud or misconduct.
Many of those allegations surround the equipment and software of Dominion Voting Systems used in some places including Maricopa County.
Dominion software might be looked at
Critics contend the software was designed by a foreign firm that eventually became part of Dominion to achieve pre-desired results. Judges have thrown out similar complaints.
Fann said the committee can take a look at that if it wants to.
“We can request that there be an audit on the Dominion software and on any hardware and to make sure that the machines weren’t hooked up to the internet,” she said. “We can make sure that none of it was tampered with.”
While there will be some focus on the 2020 vote, Fann also is looking ahead at changes in state election laws that may be necessary.
To that end, she named Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, to the Senate Judiciary Committee that will conduct the hearing. Ugenti-Rita will chair that panel for the next two years.
