UNITED STATES: Kari Lake, a Republican, lost the campaign for governor of Arizona to Katie Hobbs, a Democrat.
On Saturday, a court dismissed Lake’s appeal, rejecting her argument that malfunctioning ballot printers at several polling stations on election day were the product of willful misconduct.
The court could not find clear and convincing proof that the widespread misconduct Lake claimed altered the outcome of the 2022 election, according to Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, who then-Republican Governor Jan Brewer nominated.
The judge stated that none of Lake’s witnesses had firsthand knowledge of purposeful wrongdoing, adding that “the court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence.”
One of the most outspoken Republican candidates for the midterm elections, Lake lost by more than 17,000 votes and was a proponent of Donald Trump’s false claim of voter fraud.
When they lost in November, most other election skeptics bowed out, but Lake has not. She requested a re-vote in Maricopa county or for the judge to pronounce her the winner.
Judge Thompson highlighted that putting aside the outcome of an election while acknowledging the “anger and frustration” of inconvenienced voters.
Over 60% of Arizona voters cast ballots in Maricopa County, where several polling stations had issues with ballot printers, according to Lake’s attorneys. The flawed printers created ballots that were too faint for on-site tabulators to read. In several places, there were backed-up lines and confusion.
Since ballots impacted by the printers were transferred to more sophisticated counters at the headquarters of the elections department, county officials claim that everyone had the opportunity to vote and that all ballots were counted. The investigation into what is causing the printing issues is now underway.
At an off-site location where a contractor scans postal votes to prepare them for processing, according to Lake’s attorneys, the chain of custody for ballots was disrupted.
They asserted that staff members sent their personal postal ballots into the pile rather than sending them through the proper channels and that there was a lack of paperwork proving the transfer of ballots.
Also Read: Kari Lake Faces Defeat: Republican Candidate Loses the Arizona Governor’s Election
