Arizona officially certified the results of the 2024 General Election last Monday morning.

The election results had been already certified at the county levels last week, allowing for the recount process to begin for some races. 

Unlike in 2020 and 2022, where election denialists attempted to delay or stop the certification process due to unfounded claims of wide-spread fraud, Monday’s canvass went off without any hiccups, leading some to declare the demise of election denialism.

“I think the age of election denialism, for all intents and purposes, is dead,” Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said during the canvass.

Claims of election fraud cited by President-elect Donald Trump almost completely disappeared after his decisive win earlier this month. Trump and his allies have been pushing unfounded claims of election fraud for the past 4 years creating a whole industry around it.

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Fontes’ counterpart in the Attorney General’s Office disagreed with his take on election denial

“I believe I am still dealing with one election challenge from my 2022 race,” Mayes said, referring to challenges to the results brought by her Republican opponent Abe Hamadeh after his narrow defeat. “Obviously we are all aiming toward a return to normalcy…but I am not convinced we are there yet.”

With the election results officially certified, legal challenges can begin. Fontes’ office plans to file orders in court today for the races across the state that were close enough to trigger automatic recounts.

The certification opens a five-day window for candidates to bring lawsuits challenging the election results. Hamadeh and former Fox10 anchor turned Republican politician Kari Lake, both filed lawsuits after their defeats last cycle. Neither lawsuit provided evidence to convince a judge to overturn the results of the election.

“I can’t help but think back to four years ago when we certified the last presidential election during the backdrop of raging conspiracy theories,” Governor Katie Hobbs, who was Secretary of State at the time of the 2020 certification, said.

Both Hobbs and Mayes said they hope there will be a “return to normalcy” and that the certification process can be seen as “ministerial” and “boring” again as opposed to being a beacon for conspiracy theories.

“This has been an interesting and action packed election season which seems to be the norm now,” Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Timmer said during the certification.

This cycle also saw a number of challenges to ballot initiatives that found their ways bouncing back and forth between lower courts and the Arizona Supreme Court with little time before the election.

Voter turnout statewide was approximately 78.4 percent, according to Fontes.

“Everyone needs to take an example from this election that whether you agree with the results or not, our elections are conducted in a secure and transparent manner,” Hobbs said.

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