Officials in Arizona on Monday certified President-elect Joe Biden’s narrow win over President Donald Trump in the southwestern state, continuing Biden’s string of victories in states where Trump has been unsuccessful in proving he lost because of voter fraud.
Biden won the state’s 11 electoral votes by more than 10,000 votes, the first time a Democratic presidential candidate has won the traditionally Republican state since 1996.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, certified the state’s election results, but was flanked at the announcement by two Republicans, Gov. Doug Ducey and state Attorney General Mark Brnovich.
“This election was conducted with transparency, accuracy and fairness in accordance with Arizona’s laws and election procedures, despite numerous unfounded claims to the contrary," Hobbs said.
Ducey said, “The pandemic and COVID-19 brought new unprecedented challenges for our state. But as I said before, we do elections well here in Arizona. The system is strong, and that’s why I have bragged on it so much.”
Even with the certification of the vote, however, Trump’s supporters in Arizona are still challenging the outcome.
Kelli Ward, chairwoman of the state Republican Party, has asked a court to allow her to begin inspecting mail ballots and envelopes, contending that poor signature verification may have allowed fraudulent votes to be counted.
The Arizona vote certification also clinched the victory for former astronaut Mark Kelly, a Democrat, in a U.S. Senate race against incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally. Kelly is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday.
Biden is preparing to take office January 20 at his inauguration as the 46th U.S. president. He holds an unofficial 306-232 vote lead in the Electoral College, the process by which the U.S. presidential elections are determined. Biden also leads Trump in the popular vote by more than 6 million votes.
