Electors Case Dismissed
Arizona Attorney General Dismisses Fake Electors Case Due to Grand Jury Flaw, Plans to Refile
Key Points
In the new filing, Nicholas Klingerman—head of the Arizona Attorney General’s criminal division—said there is “no way” the state could start a new grand jury probe by the Arizona Supreme Court’s June 19 deadline.
Mayes’ motion explained that the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision triggered a 15-day clock requiring new grand jury proceedings; prosecutors argued the case “is complex and will require substantial presentation of evidence and time to accommodate Defendants’ requests to testify and present evidence,” and therefore could not be re-presented within the deadline.
Klingerman also said what could take longer in a renewed process is that “some of the defendants want to testify themselves before the grand jury and present evidence, something they have the right to do.”
The original April 2024 indictment charged 18 people, including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows, and also included 11 Republicans described in court filings as “legitimate electors” who signed documents; since then, three defendants had resolved their cases and 15 remaining pleaded not guilty.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes dropped her office's criminal "fake electors" case on June 18, 2026 — but vowed to bring it back. ABC15 reported that Mayes filed to dismiss charges against 15 remaining defendants, including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows, who were accused of trying to overturn Arizona's 2020 election results. The dismissal was filed "without prejudice," meaning prosecutors can refile the case later.
The move came after the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a lower-court ruling that the original April 2024 indictment was flawed. Grand jurors had not been shown a key federal law — the Electoral Count Act of 1887 — that prosecutors needed to present for the case to be fair. That ruling triggered a 15-day deadline to restart the grand jury process, a window prosecutors said was simply impossible to meet.
Why the Arizona Supreme Court Killed the Original Indictment
The legal problem traces back to a May 2025 ruling by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sam Myers. He found that grand jurors were never shown the Electoral Count Act of 1887 — a federal law that defense attorneys argued was central to understanding whether a crime was committed. Without it, the grand jury lacked the information needed to make a fair decision. The Arizona Supreme Court agreed, dealing Mayes a decisive 6-1 blow on June 4, 2026, according to 12News.
That ruling started a 15-day clock. Prosecutors had until June 19 to convene a brand-new grand jury and re-present the entire case. Nicholas Klingerman, head of the AG's criminal division, said in the dismissal filing that there was "no way" to do that in time. The case involves thousands of pages of evidence and 15 defendants — some of whom want to testify before the grand jury themselves, a right they are legally guaranteed, KJZZ reported.
From 18 Defendants to 15: How the Case Shrank Over Two Years
The original April 2024 indictment charged 18 people with nine felony counts each, including fraud, forgery, and conspiracy. The defendants included Giuliani, Meadows, and 11 Republicans who signed documents falsely claiming Donald Trump had won Arizona — a state Biden carried by 10,457 votes, according to the Associated Press.
By the time Mayes filed to dismiss, three defendants had already resolved their cases. Jenna Ellis reached a cooperation deal. Lorraine Pellegrino pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Jim Lamon's charges were dropped in December 2025 in exchange for his cooperation and email records. The 15 who remained had all pleaded not guilty, Tucson.com reported.
Defense Attorneys Push to Kill the Case for Good
Prosecutors want the dismissal to be "without prejudice" — legal language meaning they can try again. Defense attorneys want the opposite. Mark Williams, Rudy Giuliani's lawyer, said he will argue for dismissal "with prejudice," which would permanently block the state from refiling. Williams called the prosecution a "political punishment" for defendants who exercised their free speech rights, the Associated Press reported.
Former Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward, one of the 11 Republican electors charged, called the case "persecution" of political opponents. Conservative outlets framed the dismissal as a win against what they called "lawfare." Mayes' office declined to comment beyond the filing itself.
Mayes Plans to Refile, But the Political Clock Is Ticking
Mayes insists the case is not dead. Her office wants to re-present it to a new grand jury on a timeline that lets defendants testify and allows prosecutors to fully lay out the evidence. But that process could push any potential trial to late 2027 or 2028, according to Axios. That puts the case squarely in the middle of Arizona's 2026 midterm elections, with Mayes herself up for reelection.
All three current Republican candidates for Arizona attorney general have pledged to drop the case if elected, KAWC reported. If a Republican wins in 2026, the charges will almost certainly never be refiled. Arizona's case is also not alone — similar fake-elector prosecutions in Michigan and Georgia have already collapsed following Trump's 2024 re-election, while cases in Nevada and Wisconsin remain active, according to PBS.
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