Kari Lake Set to File Another Lawsuit Regarding Maricopa’s Election

Lake filed a lawsuit against county recorder Stephen Richer and other authorities in Arizona Superior Court. She is seeking the court to order election authorities in the state’s largest County to submit information on the administration of the midterm elections, which were marred by severe problems.

According to the attached declarations, there have been misprinted ballots, commingled counted and uncounted ballots, and long lines that discouraged people from voting. According to the 19-page lawsuit, these records are necessary for Plaintiff to determine the full scope of the problems identified and their effects on voters.

According to county authorities, tabulators at many polling places in Maricopa County malfunctioned on election day. It was suggested that voters place their ballots into a box to be tallied later. According to affidavits attached to the latest lawsuit from poll observers, employees combined tallied and uncounted votes in the same container at night’s conclusion.

A further solution to the tabulator issue was for a voter to check out of a site, go to another site or submit a mail-in ballot. Many others found that they were not checked out at the original site and were unable to have their vote properly recorded. To determine the scope of the issues, the Lake campaign on November 15 requested information such as any data about voters who checked into a site and also sent in a ballot. On November 16, the campaign submitted another request. According to the lawsuit, failing to disclose the requested data violates Arizona law, which specifies that public record requests must be met “promptly.”

Lake stated in Steve Bannon’s “War Room”: “We need information from Maricopa County.”  She added they ran the worst election in the history of elections, and “we demand information.” Regarding the fight against this failed election, Lake’s team is on a strict schedule. They are also dragging their feet and refuse to provide the requested information. Therefore, the court needs to compel them to do so.

Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who now serves as Arizona’s secretary of state, is currently in the lead. Maricopa County is set to canvass the election results on November 28, followed by the state on December 5. This week, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey stated that he would assist Hobbs in her transition to governor.

The lawsuit requests the court to order the County to release the documents before the canvassing. This date (or its significant equivalent) is essential under the circumstances provided to guarantee the timely delivery of key public records and correction of obvious defects before the 2022 general election canvass.

Maricopa County did not respond to requests for comment on a separate lawsuit filed this week by the Republican candidate for attorney general Abe Hamadeh and the Republican National Committee. Its offices were closed on Thanksgiving Thursday.

The office of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, recently sought information from Thomas Liddy, chief of the Civil Division of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, after receiving hundreds of complaints regarding midterm-related concerns.

Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright said these complaints go beyond mere supposition and include eyewitness statements that raise questions about Maricopa’s legal compliance with Arizona election law.

In addition, remarks made by Chairman Gates and Recorder Richer and material supplied by Maricopa County via official communication channels appear to confirm probable breaches of Title 16.

Wright noted that the findings suggested that the County did not run the election uniformly, as required by state and federal law, and those poll workers were not trained to examine the eligibility of voters who fled sites where the tabulators were malfunctioning.

Wright sought the information before the County sent its canvass to the secretary of state because the problems “relate to Maricopa County’s legal capacity to certify election results.”

Bill Gates, chairman of the County’s Board of Supervisors and a Republican, stated that the County would not delay the canvass.

At the time, he stated, the County would reply to a letter from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office requesting information regarding the November General Election before canvassing.

Board members got this letter on Saturday evening, and a team spent all of Sunday working on a response, even as workers continued to tally ballots. We look forward to responding to the AG’s inquiries with the same candor we’ve demonstrated throughout this race. Neither Brnovich’s office nor the County acknowledged that they supplied the information.

Lake stated in “War Room” that the County is “running out the clock” in regards to the canvass.

According to Lake, at least one additional lawsuit is in the pipeline. This current lawsuit is not her primary issue. She stated that when her primary case is out, people will learn about it.

In light of the extensive difficulties in Maricopa County, Lake repeated that whistleblowers are coming out and that officials “must consider long and hard” before certifying the election results.

Nearly a dozen Republican attorneys who watched the election at Maricopa County stations and attested to the general nature of tabulator malfunctions may be cited in the future lawsuit. In a summary of the results, attorney Mark Sonnenklar stated that the problems contributed to “significant voting suppression.” Since more Republicans voted that day than Democrats, such voter suppression would inevitably have a greater influence on the vote totals for Republican candidates than on the vote totals for Democratic candidates, he noted.