ELECTION CONTEST UPDATE: One Judge Recuses Herself From Hamadeh Election Contest; Monday Hearing May Or May Not Be On

UPDATE, 5:15pm: As of this evening, it is unclear which Judge has been assigned to this case and whether the Monday hearing will be rescheduled. The docket initially showed that Judge Connie Contes was assigned. Contes has retired and is not taking new cases. The docket this morning showed that it had been reassigned to Judge Frank Moskowitz. 

However, tonight, Arizona's Law received two Minute Entries from the Court, entered earlier today. The first moves it from Contes to Judge Danielle Viola.

The second shifts it back for assignment, stating that Judge Viola "has determined a conflict of interest exists. Therefore, the Court recuses itself." 

It is possible that the reassignment took place and sent it to Judge Moskowitz and that he set the 2pm hearing for Monday. Two additional Minute Entries were issued, but will not be "filed" until Monday morning, due to the two-day Thanksgiving holiday.

(There are two different systems for Maricopa County Superior Court judges to issue Minute Entries. One system is publicly available the following morning. However, the other system does not automatically post the Minute Entries to the public website.)

ORIGINAL ARTICLE, 11/22: ELECTION CONTEST: Initial Hearing Set For Monday In RNC/Hamadeh "Election Contest" Lawsuit (READ Complaint)

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz has set 2:00pm on Monday (Nov. 28) for an initial hearing on the "Election Contest" lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee ("RNC") and GOP AG nominee Abe Hamadeh.

RNC/Hamadeh allege that 419 Election Day ballots have not been counted by Maricopa County as a result of problems arising from the printer/tabulator issues. The Complaint alleges that that satisfies the "misconduct" requirement in the Election Contest statute.

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