Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Barber filed suit in U.S. District Court Monday, seeking to count the ballots of 133 voters his campaign contends were disenfranchised in the congressional race against Republican Martha McSally. McSally has a razor-thin lead of 161 votes, out of more than 219,000 cast in the 2nd District race. A recount is scheduled for after Dec. 1, but it will be delayed if Barber’s legal challenge is heard by the courts. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to stop the state from certifying the results of the election on Dec. 1, less than a week away. Rodd McLeod, a campaign consultant for Barber, said a time or place for the hearing has not been set. Pima and Cochise counties last week rejected calls from the Barber campaign to delay certifying votes in those counties and examine disputed ballots. Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett and the Pima and Cochise boards of supervisors are named in the suit, along with “all those acting in concert with them or under their direction.”
Barber’s lawsuit contends 133 voters were disenfranchised because of either poll workers’ errors or by Pima and Cochise county administrators who refused to take a second look at their ballots.
“These Arizona voters … cast their ballots in accordance with state or federal law and, in many cases, as specifically directed by Arizona election officials. Not only do their votes remain uncounted, but the Pima County and Cochise County Boards of Supervisors have expressly refused to investigate their circumstances or to count their votes. Under federal and state law, these ballots must be counted,” Barber’s lawsuit reads.
Full Article: Barber-McSally race heads to court.