Arizona court affirms sanctions on Mark Finchem over 2022 election lawsuit

Mark Finchem has lost another appeal stemming from his loss in the 2022 race for Arizona secretary of state, and the court decision will cost him money.

The ruling from the state Court of Appeals requires Finchem to pay a "reasonable portion" of the sanctions already granted to Finchem's rival, Adrian Fontes, who won the secretary of state's seat by more than 120,000 votes.

The ruling comes less than two months before Finchem, a former Tucson lawmaker turned Prescott resident, competes in a three-way contest for a state Senate seat representing north-central Arizona.

The ruling on the financial penalty comes on top of a lower court's decision to award Fontes $40,272.50 and then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs $7,434 as they defended against Finchem's argument that his race was flawed and the election stolen.

While Finchem ultimately decided to drop his appeal of his election loss, he continued to fight against the sanctions even as he paid them, plus interest: a total of more than $49,000. The payment was prompted by Fontes' attorney's request for information about Finchem's assets, including his vehicles, guns and bank accounts.

With the sanctions paid, Finchem pressed on with his appeal to try to overturn the sanctions order.

But a three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals found that Finchem already had waived the arguments he was seeking to make. In addition, Finchem did not show any error in Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian's decision to impose sanctions in the first place, Judge Samuel Thumma wrote.

The appeals court ruled that Finchem should pay a "reasonable portion" of the attorney fees Fontes has paid in defending against the sanctions appeal. That amount is yet to be set.

Finchem did not return a call from The Arizona Republic seeking comment.

Turned down: Supreme Court rejects Kari Lake, Mark Finchem in machine voting lawsuit, ending legal challenge

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @maryjpitzl.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ court affirms sanctions on Mark Finchem over 2022 election lawsuit