PHOENIX -- Arizona's top officials certified the midterm election results Monday, formalizing victories for Democrats over Republicans who claimed the 2020 election was rigged.
The certification opens a five-day window for formal election challenges. Republican Kari Lake, who lost the race for governor, is expected to file a lawsuit in the coming days after she's spent weeks criticizing the administration of the election.
Election results have largely been certified without issue around the country, but Arizona was an exception. Several Republican-controlled counties delayed their certification despite no evidence of problems with the vote count. Cochise County in southeastern Arizona blew past the deadline last week, forcing a judge to intervene on Thursday and order the county supervisors to certify the election by the end of the day.
"Arizona had a successful election," Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who beat Lake in the race for governor, said before signing the certification. "But too often throughout the process, powerful voices proliferated misinformation that threatened to disenfranchise voters."
The statewide certification, known as a canvass, was signed by Hobbs, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, an appointee of former Gov. Jan Brewer.
When the same group certified the 2020 election, Ducey silenced a call from then-President Donald Trump, who was at the time in a frenetic push to persuade Republican allies to go along with his attempts to overturn the election he lost.
"This is a responsibility I do not take lightly," Ducey said. "It's one that recognizes the votes cast by the citizens of our great state."
Republicans have complained for weeks about Hobbs' role in certifying her own victory, though it is typical for election officials to maintain their position while running for higher office. Lake and her allies have focused on problems with ballot printers that produced about 17,000 ballots that could not be tabulated on site and had to be counted at the elections department headquarters.
Lines backed up in some polling places, fueling Republican suspicions that some supporters were unable to cast a ballot, though there's no evidence it affected the outcome. County officials say everyone was able to vote and all legal ballots were counted.
Hobbs immediately petitioned the Maricopa County Superior Court to begin an automatic statewide recount required by law in three races decided by less than half a percentage point. The race for attorney general was one of the closest contests in state history, with Democrat Kris Mayes leading Republican Abe Hamadeh by just 510 votes out of 2.5 million cast.
The races for superintendent of public instruction and a state legislative seat in the Phoenix suburbs will also be recounted, but the margins are much larger.
Once a Republican stronghold, Arizona's top races went resoundingly for Democrats after Republicans nominated a slate of candidates backed by Trump who focused on supporting his claims about the 2020 election. In addition to Hobbs and Mayes, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly was reelected and Democrat Adrian Fontes won the race for secretary of state.
Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor-elect and current secretary of state, middle, passes to Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, right, official certification documents to sign for the Arizona general election canvass in a ceremony as Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, left, looks on at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor-elect and current secretary of state, left, signs the official certification for the Arizona general election canvass as Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, right, looks on during a ceremony at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
In this combination of photos Arizona gubernatorial candidates, Republican Kari Lake, left, appears before a PBS televised debate on June 29, 2022, in Phoenix and Democrat Katie Hobbs smiles prior to a televised interview in Phoenix, Oct. 18, 2022. Arizona's top officials certified the midterm election results Monday, Dec. 5, formalizing victories for Democrats over Republicans who falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor-elect and current secretary of state, signs the official certification for the Arizona general election canvass during a ceremony at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, left, signs the official Arizona general election canvass document as Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor-elect and current secretary of state, second from left, looks on while Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, second from right, and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, right, sit at the table as well during a signing ceremony at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor-elect and current secretary of state, second from left, signs the official certification for the Arizona general election canvass in a ceremony as Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, second from right, Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, left, and Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich flank Hobbs at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor-elect and current secretary of state, signs the official certification for the Arizona general election canvass during a ceremony at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor-elect and current secretary of state, left, passes canvass documents to Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, right, during the official certification for the Arizona general election canvass in a ceremony at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor-elect and current secretary of state, left, shakes hands with Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, right, after the official certification for the Arizona general election canvass in a ceremony at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)