Arizona AG Mayes heads back to grand jury after state supreme court declines fake electors case

The Arizona Supreme Court declined to review a case against the state's 11 fake electors who attempted to help President Donald Trump overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election. 

In 2024, an Arizona grand jury indicted 18 people who signed a document granting Arizona's electoral votes to Trump on fraud charges. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows were among those indicted, AZ Mirror reported. 

Attorneys for the fake electors said in a trial court that the indictments were invalid. The jurors weren't given a copy of the 1887 Electoral Count Act, which the attorneys argued absolved them of any wrongdoing. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge agreed, and sent the indictment back to the grand jury. 

In 2025, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes asked the Arizona Supreme Court to reverse a trial court's ruling, which it declined to do. Mayes, a Democrat, must now return to the grand jury and restart the prosecution. Whether any prosecution proceeds will depend on whether Mayes wins reelection in November. Should Republicans defeat her, they're unlikely to take up the case.