On Monday, top statewide officials of Arizona made President-elect Joe Biden's narrow victory official as they certified the battleground state's election results. Following several other states' footsteps, Arizona rejected President Donald Trump's effort to postpone the election certification citing his dubious claims of widespread voter fraud.
At the certification ceremony in Phoenix, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs pointed out that Arizonans showed up for the nation's democracy despite facing unprecedented challenges, referencing the coronavirus pandemic. The Democrat went on to say that the election was conducted with accuracy, transparency, and fairness in accordance with the state's laws and election procedures. At the same time, the president continued making unfounded claims.
The results have been affirmed by Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court Robert Brutinel, Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich, and the state's Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. Ducey, who signed documents certifying Arizona’s Electoral College slate, lauded the state’s election process.
Arizona's certification comes as two of the president's attorneys, Jenna Ellis and Rudy Giuliani, took part in an unofficial hearing hosted by some Republican Arizona lawmakers. Urging the state to disregard certification and let the state legislature pick its own slate of Electoral College electors, a course of action POLITICO deemed as legally dubious.
Trump has been touting this action since he realized that he lost the 2020 presidential election. Ducey reiterated his previous comments about doing elections well in Arizona and the strong system, contrary to the president's claims.
Ducey also noted that the paperwork that formalizes Senator-elect Mark Kelly's election would be delivered to the secretary of the U.S. Senate, expediting the process of swearing-in for the state's newest senator. Considering that it is a special election, Kelly will be filling out the remainder of the late Senator John McCain's term ahead of the new Congress taking their seats in Jan.
Kelly will be sworn on Dec. 2, a source told CBS News. Biden's victory in Arizona is a significant win for Democrats, who flipped the other seat two years ago when Kyrsten Sinema defeated Martha McSally. Kelly defeated McSally in the recently concluded election, and Biden became the second Democrat to win the state's Electoral College votes since 1952.
Trump and his allies have failed in state court to stop the process of finalizing the election results. A judge turned down a lawsuit the Arizona Republican Party had brought in a bid to block the certification process in the Maricopa County. Moreover, Trump's campaign brought another lawsuit in the state seeking a hand review of some ballots.