Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake recently filed a lawsuit against the administration of the midterm elections in Maricopa County.
Lake has cast doubts on her loss to Democrat challenger Katie Hobbs and filed the lawsuit in Arizona Superior Court. In the suit, the former candidate is suing Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer and other officials.
Lake is asking the court to force officials to provide records on how midterm elections were conducted
“Given instances of misprinted ballots, the commingling of counted and uncounted ballots, and long lines discouraging people from voting, as demonstrated in the attached declarations, these records are necessary for Plaintiff to determine the full extent of the problems identified and their impacts on electors,” read the suit.
The lawsuit requests that the court produces records before the county’s canvasses voting results which are scheduled for November 28.
Lake has yet to concede the race. Recently, the GOP candidate said, “If we give up now, we will no longer have a country.”
“Would you get on a plane if HALF of the engines didn’t work?” Lake asked in a released letter. “Would our friends in the media be able to broadcast their nightly propaganda if HALF of their studio equipment was not working?”
Bill Gates, Maricopa Board of Supervisors Chairman, said despite an issue with some Maricopa County tabulator machines on Election Day, voters had alternate ways of voting. “People were still able to vote; it was just a matter of maybe not voting in the way they wanted to. We do not believe that anyone has been disenfranchised because no one has been turned away,” said Gates.
Gov. Ducey pledges to ensure a smooth transition
Outgoing Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey met with Hobbs recently, saying he would work alongside her to ensure a smooth transition.
“Today, I congratulated Governor-elect Katie Hobbs on her victory in a hard-fought race and offered my full cooperation as she prepares to assume the leadership of the State of Arizona,” said Ducey in a statement.
Democrat Hobbs currently serves as secretary of state and was projected as the winner ten days ago. Lake has not yet conceded the governor’s race. On Steve Bannon’s podcast recently, Lake announced the lawsuit, calling the election “the shoddiest election ever, in history.”
“We want some information,” said Lake. “We’re on a timeline, a very strict timeline when it comes to fighting this botched election, and they’re dragging their feet.”
On the day of the midterm elections, Gates said that the issues were fixed at 60 polling sites with printing problems before the polls closed. He also said the issue with the printers was technical — the ink didn’t print dark enough for the machines to read.
