A lawsuit over last month's presidential preference election could hinge in part on whether a judge believes Secretary of State Michele Reagan is at fault.
At a hearing Tuesday, attorney Michael Kielsky acknowledged the problems were at the county level. That included an insufficient number of polling places, leading to long lines and voters being turned away in Maricopa County. Also, some voters were told they could not cast ballots because they had been reregistered as political independents.
But Kielsky told Judge David Gass the responsibility ultimately falls on Reagan as the state's chief election official, who takes the position all she could do was certify the results.
"And we're saying no. Based on the evidence that we're going be able to present, you couldn't have done that. You knew and you should have known that this election was not a proper election, was not conducted according to Arizona law," Kielsky said.
He told Gass it's irrelevant that the results of the March 22 vote might not have been any different had there not been what he contends are violations of elections law.
"The conduct of elections has to comply with state law. Nowhere in the election conduct statutes does it say anything about that the plaintiff has to allege that there would have been a different outcome," he said.
Gass will hear arguments on Monday.