Arizona certifies Biden’s victory over Trump

Arizona officials on Monday certified the state’s election results, affirming President-elect Joe Biden as the winner at the same time President Trump’s legal team was levying unfounded claims of fraud at an event in the state.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, Gov Doug Ducey (R) and state Attorney General Mark Brnovich were all in attendance to sign off on the documents that declared Biden had won the state by more than 10,000 votes. Both Hobbs and Ducey vouched for the accuracy and security of the election, even as Trump has continued to sow doubt about the outcome.

“Every Arizona voter has my thanks and should know that they can stand proud that this election was conducted with transparency, accuracy and fairness in accordance with Arizona’s laws and elections procedures despite numerous unfounded claims to the contrary,” Hobbs said at the brief signing event.

“The system is strong, and that is why I have bragged on it so much,” Ducey added.

Trump won Arizona in 2016, and his campaign was adamant that the president would prevail again in the state even days after Election Day. But Trump was never able to close the gap with Biden, making it the first time since 1996 a Democrat has won Arizona.

In addition to the presidential results, the officials certified the results of the U.S. Senate special election in which Mark Kelly (D) defeated Sen. Martha McSally (R). Kelly is expected to be sworn in over the next few days.

Arizona’s certification is the latest blow to Trump’s attempts to overturn election results in key states that he lost to Biden. Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia have all certified Biden as the winner in recent days, even as Trump directly attacks state officials there and lobs unfounded claims that the election was rigged.

Rudy Giuliani, who is leading Trump’s legal efforts to challenge the results, held an event in Pennsylvania last week with state Republicans in which they made allegations the election was corrupt. Giuliani was in Arizona on Monday for a similar gathering as state officials finalized the results.