BIG LOSER: Here’s how almost ALL of Kari Lake’s election challenges got tossed out of court
Kari Lake, the GOP gubernatorial candidate who lost her election in Arizona last month, is challenging the outcome of her election.
Now, following a Monday hearing, the majority of her claims were dismissed.
Lake will get to take two of her ten claims to trial — but it’s not likely to be the big win she’s claiming.
Lake’s ten claims included alleging that:
- her First Amendment rights had been violated;
- that mail-in ballots had been accepted with mismatched signatures;
- that she suffered some sort of ‘discrimination’ in the election;
- that mail-in ballots are unconstitutional;
- that the election was incorrectly certified; and
- that she was somehow denied due process.
All of these counts were dismissed by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson.
The court will allow Lake to attempt to make her case on two of her ten allegations:
- that ballot printers malfunctioned on election day due to “intentional action;” and
- that ballots were illegally or improperly added to the count by a county-contracted entity.
“The Court, drawing inferences in the light most favorable to Plaintiff as it must at this stage, finds that Plaintiff has stated a claim of misconduct by a person under control of Maricopa County…” reads the decision, making it clear that even here, the allowance to move forward is generous.
However, she still has quite a hurdle to face.
She’ll have to come to court with evidence of this alleged intentional tampering. And if such a thing exists, Lake certainly hasn’t presented it so far.
She also wasn’t given much time to produce it.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall either have physically marked and exchanged all hearing exhibits or uploaded all electronic exhibits to be used at the hearing to the Electronic Exhibits Portal of the Clerk of Maricopa County Superior Court not later than 12:00 noon on Tuesday, December 20, 2022,” the order reads.
The full order can be read here, via Democracy Docket.
Lake presented this in a Monday night tweet as a victory, suggesting that forcing her opponent, Governor-Elect Katie Hobbs, to take the witness stand would somehow prove her allegations.
BREAKING: Our Election Case is going to trial. Katie Hobbs attempt to have our case thrown out FAILED. She will have to take the stand & testify.
Buckle up, America.
This is far from over. pic.twitter.com/291EnXPP3U— Kari Lake (@KariLake) December 20, 2022
As Democracy Docket points out, though, Maricopa County’s post-election report indicates there was no voter disenfranchisement, regardless of Lake’s allegations:
“For instance, regarding the alleged printer issues raised in the Lake campaign’s complaint, the report states that ‘while Maricopa County’s printer issue in 2022 impacted more Vote Centers than normal, every voter was afforded the ability to legally and securely cast their ballot.’”
You can also watch Monday’s hearing here.
Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.
