Failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has claimed that Arizona’s “shoddy election” practices is responsible for her loss.
A Republican gubernatorial candidate has filed a lawsuit against officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County, claiming that they violated state election laws.
According to the Arizona Republic, conservative candidate Kari Lake announced her lawsuit on “War Room,” a right-wing talk-show hosted by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
Speaking to the War Room audience, Lake claimed that the 8 November general election was “the shoddiest election ever, in history.”
“We want some information,” Lake said. “We’re on a timeline, a very strict timeline when it comes to fighting this botched election, and they’re dragging their feet.”
The Republic notes that an estimated 70 of Maricopa County’s 223 voting centers experienced problems with on-site printers producing ballots that could not be read by vote-counting machines.
The technical malfunction caused widespread frustration and significantly increased waiting times for voters.
In her lawsuit, Lake alleges that up to 118 voting centers my have experienced similar problems.
Lake, adds the Republic, lost to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs by about 17,000 votes.
The Republic reports that many conservative voters appear not to have voted for Republican candidates in the latest race, marking a notable divergence from expected trends.
Lake, like many other failed Republican candidates, has sought to explain her loss by blaming widespread voter fraud and large-scale Democratic conspiracies.
Lake has asked that the court compel Maricopa County to turn over an assortment of public records, including the names and contact information of voters at affected stations, the number of ballots “spoiled” on Election Day, adjudication rates by electoral district, and the number of ballots received from overseas voters.
“These public records are vital to the integrity of the election process and necessary to show, ahead of canvassing, that every legal ballot was properly counted,” the lawsuit states.
Speaking on War Room, Lake said that—irrespective of her lawsuit’s outcome—she may file additional complaints over her loss.
“This is not our main case,” Lake said. “When our main case drops, they will hear it. Trust me, they will hear it.”
Lake also told Bannon that her legal team is gathering witnesses and has a “smoking gun,” but did not provide any additional information.
12-News notes that the defendants in the lawsuit include “Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Director of Elections for Election Services and Early Voting Rey Valenzuela, Maricopa County Director of Elections for Election Day and Emergency Voting Scott Jarrett, members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Bill Gates, Clint Hickman, Jack Sellers, Thomas Galvin, and Steve Gallardo.”
Sources
Lake files lawsuit against Maricopa County, demands information about Election Day printer problems
Lake files lawsuit against Maricopa County elections officials
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