By Howard Fischer
Twitter: @azcapmedia

PHOENIX — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out what is likely the last legal challenge remaining about the choice of Arizona voters of Joe Biden for president.

Without comment, the justices refused to consider a request by Pinal County resident Staci Burk that she should be allowed to pursue her claims of evidence of election fraud. She wanted access to the ballots to prove that some were invalid.

The justices, however, never actually got to look at those claims. In fact, that wasn't even part of her petition to the high court.

What Ms. Burk wanted — and what the justices refused to grant her — is a hearing over the question of whether she was an "elector'' under Arizona law who had standing to bring such a claim in the first place. It was that lack of standing that allowed state courts, right up through the Arizona Supreme Court, to ignore her claims.

In her underlying claims, Ms. Burk alleged widespread fraud and improper tallying by voting machines. She also claims someone had flown a batch of ballots into Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport, some of which Ms. Burk said were taken to the Maricopa County ballot tabulation center.

Ms. Burk never got a hearing on her claims after her case was tossed last year by Pinal County Superior Court Judge Kevin White who concluded she had no legal right to sue because she did not fit the legal definition of "qualified elector.'' He said that was because she was not registered to vote in the 2020 race.

She charged that her registration had been illegally canceled and sought a hearing. But Judge White also found that Ms. Burk, who represented herself, waited too long to file suit.

The state's high court reached the same conclusion.
Chief Justice Robert Brutinel writing for himself and three other justices who reviewed the case, acknowledged that Ms. Burk contends that her registration was improperly canceled.

The justices did not rule on that nor even dispute her argument. But Justice Brutinel said it doesn't matter.

"She admits that she was well aware before the election that she would not be able to vote in the general election,'' the chief justice wrote. "There is nothing before the court to indicate that (Ms. Burk) timely contacted the appropriate authorities to correct any problems with her voter registration.''

There was no immediate comment from Ms. Burk.