Kari Lake’s opening salvo in election fraud case appears to fall short
Lake's fraud allegations didn't appear to explain her 17,000-vote loss to Katie Hobbs
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake had a lackluster first day in court in her attempt to establish that her election against Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs was stolen.
Lawyers for Lake made several allegations of impropriety in the elections, but even if proven true, the instances did not appear to be enough to explain Lake's 17,000-vote loss to Hobbs. Lake's team primarily focused on allegations in Maricopa County, where a ballot printer issue caused lines to back up for hours, according to the Associated Press.
Lake's lawsuit alleges that election officials maliciously allowed "vast numbers of illegal votes" to be counted in the election. But while the printer issue caused delays for voters, county officials say everyone was ultimately able to vote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lake also claimed that the chain of custody for ballots was broken at one off-site facility and that workers at the facility inserted their own ballots there rather than going to a polling place, according to the AP. The county contests each of Lake's claims, however, and it is unclear how her complaints could add up to 17,000 miscounted or otherwise fraudulent votes.
ARIZONA CERTIFIES 2022 ELECTION RESULTS, CEMENTING DEMOCRAT STATEWIDE WINS
Kari Lake speaks during an Arizona Republican Party election night rally. (Jon Cherry/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Arizona Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs holds a campaign event. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson granted Lake a two-day trial to make the case for her election fraud claims. The trial will end Thursday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}KARI LAKE LAWYERS UP AHEAD OF POTENTIAL LEGAL FIGHT IN ARIZONA GOVERNOR RACE
Thompson's ruling to enter trial requires Lake to establish that Maricopa County's printer malfunctions were in fact a malicious attempt to prevent her election. The ruling also mandates that Lake proves the malfunctions actually did impact the result of the election.
Lake's original lawsuit laid out eight other claims of election fraud in addition to the printer malfunction and the chain of custody claims, but Thompson dismissed the allegations.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Those dismissed allegations included:
- Count I – Violation of Freedom of Speech
- Count III – Invalid Signatures on Mail-In Ballots
- Count V: Equal Protection
- Count VI: Due Process
- Count VII – Secrecy Clause
- Count VIII: Incorrect Certification
- Count IX: Inadequate Remedy
- Count X: Constitutional Rights
Kari Lake and Katie Hobbs
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Meanwhile, Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has met with Hobbs, who is scheduled to take over the office on Jan. 2.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.