Arizona Court Rejects Kari Lake’s Request to Nullify Election Results, Citing Lack of Evidence
On Thursday, an Arizona court of appeals rejected Kari Lake’s challenge of her gubernatorial loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs, the second court ruling to throw out her request to nullify the results of the November election and hold it again.[0] Lake, who was endorsed by former president Trump, had claimed that printing issues kept her from winning the race, but was unable to produce any evidence proving her allegations.[1] The court noted that “voters were able to cast their ballots, that votes were counted correctly, and that no other basis justifies setting aside the election results.”[0] Previously, it was declared that Hobbs won over Lake by a margin of more than 17,000 votes.[2]
In her appeal, Lake asserted that the superior court trial was tainted by legal and factual errors, and that one of her claims regarding signature verification for early ballots was erroneously dismissed. The appeals court agreed with the previous ruling that any suit taking issue with the county’s signature verification process should have been filed prior to the election, and not after Lake had lost.[3] The court also denied Hobbs' request for an award of attorney's fees for the appeal case.[4]
Lake tweeted her reaction to the court ruling, stating she would take her argument to the state Supreme Court for further review.[5] The Republican candidate has been a loud proponent of former President Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and has alleged her race was rigged from the start.[6]
The appeals court ruled that Lake had failed to prove any elements of her claims, citing her evidence of voter disenfranchisement that was based on voter failure to complete an exit survey, speculation by the man that conducted the survey, and an extrapolation of the number of voters who didn’t complete the survey to show how many people intended to vote in the election, but didn’t. Judge Cattani also noted that Lake’s claim “boils down to a suggestion that election-day issues led to long lines at vote centers, which frustrated and discouraged voters, which allegedly resulted in a substantial number of predominately Lake voters not voting.”
“But Lake’s only purported evidence that these issues had any potential effect on election results was, quite simply, sheer speculation,” Cattani wrote.[7]
0. “Arizona Court of Appeals rejects Kari Lake's election challenge” CNN, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/16/politics/kari-lake-election-appeal/index.html
1. “Court Snuffs Out Kari Lake's Arizona Election Loss Appeal” The Daily Beast, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.thedailybeast.com/kari-lake-loses-arizona-governors-election-loss-appeal
2. “Kari Lake vows to take Arizona gubernatorial defeat to state supreme court” Daily Mail, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11761979/Kari-Lake-vows-Arizona-gubernatorial-defeat-state-supreme-court.html
3. “Kari Lake loses election challenge appeal | National News | kpvi.com” KPVI News 6, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/kari-lake-loses-election-challenge-appeal/article_43c3b2e9-b727-5ed8-9616-a1e8d87397c5.html
4. “Arizona appeals court rejects Kari Lake's election challenge” UPI News, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/02/16/appeals-court-rejects-Kari-Lake-election-challenge/9011676601146/
5. “Appeals court affirms Katie Hobbs' victory as Arizona governor” ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.abc15.com/news/state/appeals-court-affirms-katie-hobbs-victory-as-arizona-governor
6. “Arizona appeals court: ‘No basis' for Kari Lake election challenge” TucsonSentinel.com, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/021623_lake_election/
7. “Kari Lake loses again. I, for one, am SHOCKED (not)” The Arizona Republic, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2023/02/16/kari-lake-loses-again-i-for-one-am-shocked-not/69913063007/
