RTA Lawyer: It’s Too Late to Challenge Vote: Dems, Pima Seeking Probe of Possible Rigging
By Andrea Kelly, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson
May 31–The attorney for the Regional Transportation Authority said Wednesday that it is too late to legally challenge the results of last May’s election, even if an investigation determines votes were electronically changed to reverse the outcome.
The statute of limitations for such a challenge expired nearly a year ago, said attorney Thomas Benavidez.
Pima County and the Pima County Democratic Party have asked the state attorney general for an investigation into whether there was any electronic flipping of the votes during the RTA election, at which voters soundly approved a 20-year transportation plan and half-cent sales tax to pay for it.
Benavidez’s comment was made after a court hearing on a related election matter. Neither Democratic Party nor county officials were available to comment on his assertion late Wednesday.
The Democratic Party has two suits pending against the county over elections. One case is about the release of public records; the other is about vote counting in previous elections.
The allegations that the RTA vote was rigged surfaced during an investigation into one of those cases. The Democrats found “suspicious activity” relating to the RTA election, and the party’s lawyer reported it to the state attorney general and requested an investigation.
When the county learned there was a question about the RTA election, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry also asked the Attorney General’s Office for an investigation.
The county asked Judge Michael Miller of Pima County Superior Court to delay proceedings for the civil cases while the attorney general investigates the RTA claims. On Wednesday, Miller said he will make a decision on the delay June 12.
While the Regional Transportation Authority is not a party in these cases, the organization’s lawyer is following the cases because the RTA election is now part of the context of the other cases, said Gary Hayes, RTA executive director.
The statute of limitations for challenging an election is five days after the governing body certifies the election, Benavidez said. The RTA election was certified May 31, 2006, he said, so the statute of limitations for challenging the results ran out nearly a year ago.
–Contact reporter Andrea Kelly at 573-4243 or akelly@azstarnet.com.
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