Maricopa County Supervisory Board Chairman Bill Gates According to a recent court ruling “A Victory for Arizona Voters and American Democracy” against Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake.

The ruling, handed down by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, heard two counts of action in lieu of ten brought by Lake in connection with the November election. Thompson found no evidence to support the Lake campaign’s claim that she beat Democrat Katie Hobbs by 400,000 to 500,000 votes. Lake lost to Hobbes by just over 17,000 votes.

Thompson, who was appointed in 2010 by former Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, wrote, “Never in the history of the United States has a court given so much leeway as the court can determine.”

He added that “the election officials themselves… were also conscientiously committed to doing their part. It’s not perfect because there’s no perfect system on earth, but it’s important to have a law-abiding and effective election.” is more than enough,” he wrote.

In a statement released Saturday, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors wrote that Lake’s lawsuit was in no way about facts or evidence.

“Rather, it was a continuation of a televised rant by a candidate who could not or would not accept the fact that he lost,” the statement said. “Ms. Lake asked the court to destroy the valid votes of hundreds of thousands of Arizona voters and order them to count the votes that were probably not cast for her.”

The commission, which represents the fourth-largest county in the United States, also confirmed the unsuccessful legal challenges of Republican candidates Mark Finchem (candidate for secretary of state) and Abe Hamade (candidate for attorney general). , which the court referred to as evidence of “what the court revealed.” Frivolous political drama aimed at undermining elections will not be tolerated. ”

Gates, a lifelong Republican and re-elected in 2020 for another four-year term, told reporters in the days after the election that he and other county election officials had been threatened.

Since Thompson’s ruling, a Twitter “warroom” account representing Lake and her campaign has repeatedly criticized Maricopa County officials.

Mr Lake responded to a tweet suggesting that the election appeal was expected to be “outrageous”. retweeted video He wrote from a conservative conference that people want “justice” and “honest and transparent elections.”

In a separate tweet, Lake’s campaign claimed, “The judge gave us a hurdle that we couldn’t clear. It was intentional. We cleared it anyway.” “There is no universe where these machines accidentally go down. There is no universe anywhere.” @katiehobbs Win a legitimate election.and there is no universe @KariLake give up this fight. ”

A written response to the judgment from Lake’s attorneys has been provided below. Newsweek His campaign said the Republican candidate’s “allegations are legally unfounded and not malicious.”

They are asking the court to deny the judge’s ruling.

“The issues raised in this court are of grave concern to millions of Arizona voters about the causes of the confusion on Election Day, and the general election administration in Maricopa County, and the plaintiff’s actions. [Lake’s] The allegation has been filed and deserves to be heard,” the lawyers wrote.

Like Lake, “punishing those who make legitimate claims does not increase trust in the electoral process,” they said.

Republican National Committee member Ronna McDaniel faces enthusiasm from party members after lackluster midterm results, but a split in the Republican nominee has hit back some factions of her base. Mr. Lake was cited as an example.

“Two gubernatorial candidates [in Arizona]”One will not support the other,” McDaniel told Newsmax last Tuesday. [John] McCain voters, get out of my rally.’ And the McCain voters said, ‘No, I’m not voting for you.’ we can’t do that. ”

More than 1.56 million votes were cast in Maricopa County in November’s midterm elections, surpassing nearly all midterm turnout in the last 50 years.

Update December 27, 2022 9:29 AM ET: This article has been updated with comments from Lake’s campaign.