Claim: Kari Lake’s lawsuit shows Arizona used ‘no signature verification’ in midterm elections
The caption of the Dec. 12 Facebook video (direct link, archived linkA lawsuit filed by former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake alleges it proves the state did not use signature verification in the recent midterm elections.
“Cali Lake’s Serious Lawsuit Reveals Arizona Not Using Signature Verification, Jim Hoft Reports,” reads the video’s caption.
A version of the clip captioned with the same claim generated hundreds of views rumble and Bichute.
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Lake’s lawsuit, which was eventually dismissed, alleged that Maricopa County mishandled the signature verification process and improper votes were counted during the midterm elections. I never did. Election officials say all mail-in ballots have been signature-verified in the midterm elections.
Lawsuit alleges Maricopa County mishandled signature verification
A Facebook video shows an interview with Jim Hoft, founder of The Gateway Pundit, a website that previously published misinformation, and Steve Bannon, a conservative commentator on his podcast “Bannon’s War Room.” During the interview, they discuss the lawsuit filed by Lake, who lost the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election. Election fraud by Democratic winner Katie Hobbs and Maricopa County election officials.
However, the case was dismissed by a judge on December 24 after two days of trial.That was after the social media post in question, but the post is still wrong since the lawsuit did not claim Arizona used “no signature verification”, according to Gerald Lentini Election and Criminal Defense Attorney.
Maricopa County reporter Steven Richer said in a USA TODAY direct message that all mail-in ballots had their signatures verified in the midterm elections.
Rather, the lawsuit argued that Maricopa County election officials had not followed signature-verification laws rigorously enough, and that ballots from envelopes whose signatures did not exactly match voter registration records were still being counted. , reflected in points 15 and 16. lawsuit.
According to Arizona law Elections officials should compare the signature on the mail ballot envelope to the signature on the voter registration record to determine if the signatures match. If there are discrepancies, the elections office must give voters an opportunity to correct the discrepancies. This is a process called ballot amendment.
situation Election Procedure Manual It also said that election officials must refer to “additional known signatures from other official election documents in voter registration records,” such as signature lists and early voting requests.
Lake’s lawsuit argued that it was illegal for election staff to match signatures on ballot envelopes to samples other than voter registration records. But that argument was dismissed under procedural technicality, Lentini said.
fact check: Arizona voting equipment certified ahead of 2022 midterm elections
Lentini said, “If a political party is fully aware of the procedure prior to the election as to how the election will be conducted and fails to challenge the procedure before the voting begins, the courts will almost always find it unacceptable.” “Those kinds of arguments should be raised before the election, not after.”
The Lake lawsuit alleges that some ballots were received based on signatures from unauthorized sources in Maricopa County, but Lentini said how many ballots could have been bees. She could not say that there was a possibility that there was a difference, or that other samples might have been used.
Additionally, the lawsuit mentions April report Arizona Attorney General Mark Brunovich said Maricopa County’s signature verification process in the 2020 election was “insufficient to prevent abuse” because workers were given only a few seconds to verify their signatures. claimed to be.However, one judge Previously ruled in 2020 In Ward v. Jackson, there was no evidence of illegality in the county’s signature verification practices.
According to the Arizona Republic, a judge in Lake’s case ruled that Lake’s legal team had not provided clear and convincing evidence that the election was rigged.
USA TODAY reported other alleged fraud in Maricopa County, including unsubstantiated claims that Maricopa County lost 291,390 votes, and a video showing ballots breaking chains of control within the county. exposed the allegations of
USA TODAY reached out to social media users who shared the allegations for comment.
political fact exposed Claim.
Fact-check sources:
- Gerald LentiniDecember 30, 2022, email exchange with USA TODAY
- Megan Gilbertson, email exchange with USA TODAY, December 22, 2022
- Stephen Richer, January 3rd, text message exchange with USA TODAY
- ARIZONA REPUBLIC, DECEMBER 24, 2022 Judge throws Kari Lake’s election challenge in Arizona gubernatorial election
- Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona, Dec. 9, 2022, Kari Lake v Katie Hobbs and Maricopa Officials
- Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona, Dec. 4, 2020, Kelly Ward vs Constance Jackson
- Arizona State Law, Accessed Jan. 4, Article 8 Early Voting 16-550
- Arizona, October 1, 2021, Election Procedure Manual
- Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, May 4, 2022, Letter to Attorney General Mark Brnovich
- Office of the Attorney General, April 6, 2022, Interim Report
- Politifact, 15 December 2022, Kari Lake’s lawsuit does not show that Arizona failed to verify signatures on mail-in ballots
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