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person declared elected … did not in fact receive the highest number of votes.” A.R.S. § 16-672(A)(1), (4) and (5). In her First Amended Complaint, Appellant sought the inspection of an unspecified number of ballots under A.R.S. § 16-677, which authorized the inspection of ballots before preparing for trial after the statement of contest has been filed.
Under Arizona law, “If any ballot, including any ballot received from early voting, is damaged, or defective so that it cannot properly be counted by the automatic tabulating equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be made of the damaged ballot in the presence of witnesses and substituted for the damaged ballot. All duplicate ballots shall be clearly labeled ‘duplicate’ and shall bear a serial number that shall be recorded on the damaged or defective ballot.” A.R.S. § 16-621(A).
In this election, Maricopa County has 27,869 duplicate ballots pertaining to the Presidential Electors. Witness testimony explained that “duplicate ballots” include those reflecting “overvotes” or votes for more than one candidate; overseas ballots; and ballots that are damaged or otherwise cannot be machine tabulated. The trial court also heard testimony from a number of witnesses who presented credible testimony that they saw errors in which the duplicate ballot did not accurately reflect the voter’s apparent intent as reflected in the original ballot.
Before the trial, the parties conducted a review of randomly
