Libertarian Party, 189 F. Supp. 3d at 923 (quotation marks and citations omitted). Plaintiffs offer no reasonable explanation why their claims were brought in federal court at this late date. Their delay and the resulting prejudice bars their claims by laches.
- E. Mootness
Defendants also argue that this case is moot. (Docs. 38 at 5; 40 at 22). The Court agrees. “Mootness is a jurisdictional issue, and ‘federal courts have no jurisdiction to hear a case that is moot, that is, where no actual or live controversy exists.’” Foster v. Carson, 347 F.3d 742, 745 (9th Cir. 2003) (quoting Cook Inlet Treaty Tribes v. Shalala, 166 F.3d 986, 989 (9th Cir. 1999)). In addition, a case is moot when a party cannot obtain relief for its claim. Id.; see also Ruvalcaba v. City of L.A., 167 F.3d 514, 521 (9th Cir. 1999).
Plaintiffs request an injunction that (a) enjoins Governor Ducey from transmitting the certified results, (b) orders Defendants to “de-certify” the election results, (c) nullifies votes tabulated by uncertified machines, (d) declares that illegal ballot fraud occurred in violation of the Electors and Elections Clauses and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protections Clauses, (e) mandates a manual recount or statistical sampling of all mail-in and absentee ballots, and (f) allows Plaintiffs to seize and inspect voting hardware and software as well as security camera recordings “of all rooms used in Maricopa County” from November 3 to 4. (Doc. 1 at ¶ 145).
Obviously, the Court cannot enjoin the transmission of the certified results because they have already been transmitted. (Doc. 40 at 4). Plaintiffs’ counsel orally argued that Defendants had the power to de-certify the election under 3 U.S.C. § 6. Nothing in that statute authorizes this Court to de-certify the results. The manner provided to contest elections under Arizona law requires election contest claims to be brought, “in the superior court of the county in which the person contesting resides or in the superior court of Maricopa County.” A.R.S. § 16-672. Therefore, if de-certification were possible, it would only be possible through an action brought in Arizona superior court. In other words, this Court has no power to de-certify the results. But even assuming the Court were able to grant the extraordinary relief requested, ordering Governor Ducey to de-certify the
- 21 -
