Kari Lake has formally challenged her loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs. Lake has asked a court to throw out certified election results from Maricopa County and declare her the winner or rerun the election in that county. The suit targets the governor-elect along with top officials in the county. Her case joins other challengers and criticisms directed toward Arizona’s election process.
Arizona’s glitchy election process
After accusations of election fraud in 2020, Arizona was back in the spotlight just hours after Midterm voting began. A printing malfunction at about one-quarter of the polling places across Arizona’s most populous county slowed down the voting in both traditionally Democratic and Republican areas. However, election officials assured voters that every ballot would be counted.
Arizona state law gives election officials until November 28 to finish counting for the November 8 election. Maricopa County takes, on average, 10 to 12 days to fully tally ballots after each election. This timeline alone is a standout piece of information that should be a red flag regarding the state’s election integrity.
Katie Hobbs as Elections Chief
As Secretary of State, Hobbs’ role includes overseeing elections. While this does not involve conducting the election, her office is tasked with canvassing and certifying the results that each county submits. After recommendations that Hobbs should recuse herself from official election-related duties, her spokeswoman went on record stating that Hobbs had no plans to do so.
Criticism and Backlash
A quick search on the web, and you’ll find that mainstream media easily dismisses Lake’s claims as nothing more than baseless conspiracy theories. Publications from across the internet note that she has long been an election denier and that her claims have fueled election misinformation.
Responding to a request for comment from The Washington Post, Lake’s legal counsel, Kurt Olsen, cited details from the lawsuit and said, “it’s about restoring trust in the election process.”
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