Broken voting machines, late ballots, and other shady practices plagued Arizona’s midterm election. Kari Lake lost the election, and ever since it was called she has been looking for explanations to clearly describe the causes of all the problems and the actual vote total. A hand recount of the ballots was used in other states with problems, which occasionally changed the outcome of the election.
According to ABC News, Katie Hobbs declared her own victory over Republican Lake on Monday in the presence of outgoing Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey, Attorney General Mark Brnovich, and Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court Robert Brutinel.
Lake had five days after the certification was finished to present legal objections in court, which she did. Lake is certain that her lawsuit will succeed and has stated that, if necessary, she is prepared to “take it all the way to the Supreme Court.”
According to Fields Moseley, spokesman for Maricopa County, “looks forward to sharing facts about the administration of the 2022 General Election and our work to ensure every legal voter had an opportunity to cast their ballot,” The courts are the proper venue for handling such claims.
Despite the fact that Lake fell short of winning the governor’s race in Arizona by only 17,000 votes, she is requesting that a judge in Maricopa County Superior Court pronounce her the victor. On Tuesday, the judge heard testimony from attorneys for Lake and the Democratic challenger in the case that claims statewide fraud. Additionally, it appeared that the judge will make a decision soon, which is good news for individuals who do not want a court matter to drag for weeks or even months.
The election’s declared victor is happy with the outcome and is making efforts to get the case dismissed.
Attorneys for Secretary of State and Governor-elect Katie Hobbs, as well as attorneys defending Maricopa County election officials, intend to submit motions to dismiss the case in response to Lake’s 70-page complaint. The Secretary of State’s Office’s attorney, Andy Gaona, asked the judge on Tuesday to keep the case on a tight timeline in the hopes that it will be speedily dismissed.
Gaona stated during Tuesday’s virtual hearing that “Essentially a one-day hearing should give the plaintiffs the opportunity to make whatever case they believe they have, a case we believe is nonexistent.”
Gaona informed the judge that the peaceful transfer of power will be hampered if the litigation is allowed to drag on for too long. Hobbs is scheduled to be sworn in as governor in early January. The tenure of Republican Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona has expired.
Today, we certified the election. pic.twitter.com/BD0SsKg5tB
— Doug Ducey (@DougDucey) December 5, 2022
More on this story via The Republic Brief:
Bryan Blehm, an attorney representing Lake, asked the judge for more time to work through arguments. “This is a pretty significant factual hearing, your honor,” Blehm said.
“Judge Peter Thompson said he did have some concerns about timing. He scheduled two hours on Monday for oral arguments for the motions to dismiss and set a two-day hearing scheduled for later next week. There appears to be major interest in the case. Tuesday’s hearing was delayed by about half an hour because so many members of the public were trying to log into the virtual courtroom,” KJZZ reported. CONTINUE READING…