Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is set to face her second campaign trial in a lawsuit that has dragged on for nearly seven months since she lost to Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs in November. there is
In a ruling issued late Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson said Lake had one remaining issue in the case: Maricopa County properly verified his signature on the ballot affidavit. should be given an opportunity to testify as to whether
Thompson rejected motions from Hobbes, the county and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to dismiss Lake’s remaining claims at a hearing last week, which they argued was the right move.
Lake won the opportunity to argue that Maricopa County did not follow signature verification rules and, as a result, counted thousands of ballots that should not have been in November.
The judge clearly set the terms for Lake. To succeed in her trial, she “must certify a signature made by a high-level Maricopa County signature jury.” no Verifying or amending signatures and systematically failing to substantially comply with the law in doing so. ”
Mr. Lake must also prove that the county’s failure “caused a change in the outcome” of the election, evidenced by “competent mathematical grounds” and clear and compelling evidence.
Since November, Lake has been asking the court to declare himself governor or order Maricopa County to rerun the election.
The Arizona Supreme Court in March upheld an earlier ruling that dismissed most of Lake’s lawsuits, but disagreed with the legal reasoning used to dismiss one complaint involving signature verification. . The Supreme Court has directed a county judge to reconsider the count, leading to a trial now scheduled to begin Wednesday.
Lake’s case centers on the testimony of three witnesses who participated in the initial signature verification. The county argues that these officials are only the first step in a multi-step verification process and does not know how many final ballots were verified and counted.
Maricopa County officials defended the county’s campaign in a statement.
Maricopa County Oversight Board Chairman Clint said, “For three years, our signature verification process has been called into question. We’ve presented evidence that it’s legal, legal, and has always been subject to bipartisan oversight,” said Maricopa County Oversight Board Chairman Clint. Hickman, a Republican, said in a statement:
“We look forward to showing off our work once again. We have nothing to hide. We are proud of our team and our process and confident of winning in court where facts matter most.” I have.”
Mr. Lake’s attorneys Kurt Olsen and Brian Brehm last week resumed attempts to open another part of Mr. Lake’s case, alleging he made false statements in court.
Mr. Thompson denied this, and Mr. Lake tried to distort parts of the original lawsuit to make new claims, which were procedurally impermissible and would have changed the outcome of the election anyway. He said he couldn’t prove it.
“The evidence presented falls far short of what is needed to establish a basis for fraud,” Thompson wrote. “It’s important to remember that this is an electoral challenge, focused on the votes affected that will change the outcome of the election.”
Mr. Lake’s lawyers have argued that “bombshell” new evidence should allow him to restate how the polling machine problem affected the election on Election Day. Mr. Thompson previously discovered that although there had been problems with the on-demand ballot printing machine, even Mr. Lake’s own witnesses testified that there was a back-up plan that allowed votes to be counted, and that rejected.
It is historically unusual for Mr. Lake’s challenge to endure by a margin of about 17,000 votes to Mr. Hobbes. But she’s not the only Arizona Republican still contesting her election loss.
Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem and Republican attorney general candidate Abe Hamade lost their legal challenges, but say they need to face new trials.
Hamade, who lost to Democrat Chris Mays by 280 votes, partly because of the narrow margin in the recount and problems in Pinal County, partly because Mr. Lake will argue over the signature verification claim. As such, he argues that he should be retrialed. Similar to one element of the Hamade incident.
Hamade’s attorneys are scheduled to argue for a retrial in Mojave County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Please contact reporter Stacy Berchanger. stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.please follow her twitter @sbarchenger.
