JACK COBB

Jack Cobb, co-founder and laboratory director of Pro V&V

Jack Cobb, the co-founder of Pro V&V, one of the groups, told The Republic that the problem wasn't practical, but political. His company was still operating up to federal standards, he said. But the board of political appointees simply hadn't voted to renew the certification, providing a final stamp of approval.

The Arizona Supreme Court said, in its ruling, that even if the request was timely, it could not entertain tossing out election results absent evidence that the errors pointed out by the group would have changed the results.

"The validity of an election is not voided by honest mistakes or omissions," the court wrote in its ruling, citing a case dating back to 1887, when Arizona was still a territory.

The court also pointed out that the petition was, by statute, meant to be filed by a county attorney or state attorney general, or someone with a viable claim to the office.

In its ruling, the court said that "nothing in the statutes Petitioners cite grants them a private right of action to remove office holders and sit in their stead."