(Headline USA) Leaders of the Arizona House and Senate shut down operations for the rest of this week, blaming the fact that some members may have been exposed to COVID-19 after President Trump‘s legal counsel Rudy Giuliani tested positive a couple days after a visit last week.
The news came as the Arizona Supreme Court decided to hear a case brought by state GOP chair Kelli Ward, challenging mail-in ballots in Maricopa County.
Some members of the legislature were calling for a return to session to consider awarding a new set of electors due to vote fraud in the state, after Democrat Joe Biden was certified the winner by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.
A decision by leaders in the Arizona Legislature to temporarily shutter the House and Senate after several GOP lawmakers were possibly exposed to COVID-19 has fueled infighting within the party, with some Republicans deeming the closure a “cowardly” move.
State GOP party chair Kelli Ward and several lawmakers already were upset with Republican House Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, after he issued a statement Friday rejecting calls for the Legislature to convene and appoint its own presidential electors.
After Rudy Giuliani — who’d spent hours with certain legislators in Phoenix last week during a multistate tour to contest election results — was hospitalized with COVID-19 two days later, the decision to close the Legislature for a week further fanned the anti-Bowers flames.
“This is a 100% unnecessary, cowardly move,” Ward posted Sunday night on Twitter, with the post swiftly racking up thousands of retweets. She added: “#DoYourJob #ElectionIntegrity #StopTheSteal.”
In the case brought by Ward, she is challenging the process by which signatures were verified for mail-in ballots.
A lower court judge said he found “no misconduct, no fraud and no effect on the outcome of the election” after two days of testimony.
Other election-related cases are moving through the courts in Arizona, which the Republic outlines here.
Current results show Biden with a lead over Trump by 10,457 votes, a .3 percent margin.
