In a Monday hearing, a Pima County judge denied Tucson City Council candidate Sadie Shaw’s request for a new election in the Ward 3 primary.
Shaw and incumbent Kevin Dahl are separated by 19 votes after the Democratic primary election Aug. 5. An automatic recount was triggered by the close margin but Shaw filed a lawsuit asking for a do-over because of errors in ballot distribution.
Shaw’s lawyer argued the city violated the law by not sending correct ballots to 76 people. Lawyers for the city and county argued there was no evidence the errors prevented people from voting and that a new election would be disruptive and expensive.
Judge Wayne Yehling said there was no fraud or intentional misconduct; that the county and city “appropriately” offered each of the voters the opportunity to vote; and none of the voters were disenfranchised.
The automatic recount, which was paused during the legal challenge, will now proceed.
Unless the results change in the recount, Dahl now competes against Republican Janet “JL” Wittenbraker in the general election Nov. 4.
In a statement, Shaw said she was disappointed by the ruling but particularly concerned about the serious election-related problems uncovered with regards to the county recorder’s office.
“Ultimately, this case exposed how fragile trust in our elections can be. Mistakes like these cannot be repeated,” Shaw said. “Tucson deserves transparency and accountability from election officials, and a system that guarantees every eligible voter receives a ballot, that it is the correct ballot, and that every vote is counted. That is the only way to rebuild trust and protect our democracy.
Dahl declined to comment on the challenge or judge’s ruling.
In a statement to Arizona Luminaria, Wittenbraker commended Shaw for running an impressive campaign, and said she should take pride in her strong performance. Still, while she said the judge’s ruling could be criticized, it was time to move ahead.
“While I believe the Pima County judge’s ruling to uphold the integrity of the Ward 3 Democratic primary between Kevin Dahl and Sadie Shaw, and to deny Shaw’s request for a new election, may be perceived as potentially unfair, the decision stands,” she said.
Just days before the Aug. 5 election, Pima County confirmed a data error that resulted in 358 voters being mailed the wrong ballots.
The city mailed an official letter to voters impacted by the error, while the Pima County Recorder’s Office also contacted them using the phone numbers and email addresses listed in their voting records, the office said in a news release.
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