Congressman Ron Barber's legal team filed action in federal court this morning to force state officials to include ballots that were rejected in the Nov. 4 election. Barber trails Republican challenger Martha McSally by 161 votes.

Press release from Team Barber:

This morning attorneys for Ron Barber for Congress and Southern Arizonans whose votes have not been counted went to Federal Court to seek relief, asking the Federal Court to order Pima and Cochise Counties to count 133 wrongfully rejected votes.

Three Arizona voters, Josh Cohen, Lauren Breckenridge, and Lea Goodwine-Cesarac, have joined with Ron Barber for Congress to file suit in Federal District Court in the State of Arizona, asking the judge to consider 133 declarations signed by individual Arizona voters, asking for their vote to be counted.

"I'm 81 years old, and in all my years, I never thought my vote would be tossed in the trash instead of counted," said Lea Goodwine-Cesarac. "I'm an Arizonan and a United States citizen. I voted and my vote should be counted along with the more than one hundred other Arizonans whose votes were wrongfully thrown out."

"We are talking about 133 Southern Arizona voters who lived up to their responsibility — they registered to vote and then showed up to vote," said Kevin J. Hamilton, attorney for the voters and for Ron Barber's campaign. "We are asking the court to ensure that every lawful vote is counted. That's what America is all about."