Katie Hobbs is a contender in a contentious contest for Governor in Arizona. She is using her existing position to end a protest against the election results and compel the county to certify the election results. Hobbs, who is the Democratic nominee and current Secretary of State, is suing a county that refuses to certify this year’s election results.
The media has pronounced Hobbs the victor over Republican Kari Lake. Cochise County had a legislative responsibility to certify the results of the 2022 General Election by today. Hobbs tweeted on Monday that her office has filed a lawsuit to guarantee that all votes are counted.
Kari Lake’s War Room tweeted that this is a flagrant misuse of authority, but when has that ever stopped you in the past?
Another tweet from Lake’s War Room account stated that: Hobbs presided over a fraudulent election and declared herself the victor. Now she is attempting to coerce counties in Arizona into organizing her coronation. She is establishing an extremely hazardous precedent. As Governor, these abuses of authority will continue.
As Secretary of State, Hobbs, who oversees elections, was asked to recuse herself from overseeing this year’s election to prevent the appearance of a conflict of interest. Hobbs was elected to her position of Secretary of State in 2018.
On Monday, Cochise County’s Board of Supervisors denied certifying the nearly 47,000 ballots cast in the November 8 election. The Board of Supervisors then announced that it would reconsider the decision on Friday.
Concerned about the accuracy and security of tabulation machines, the Board of Supervisors had voted before the election to undertake a comprehensive audit of the ballots by manual counting. Hobbs threatened legal action if the action was taken.
The complaint asserts Hobbs is acting in the voters’ best interests. Without court action, the Secretary will be compelled to finish the statewide recount by December 8 without including Cochise County’s ballots. Thus, the Board’s inactivity violates the plain text of the legislation and undermines a fundamental principle of free and fair elections in the state: guaranteeing that the voice of every Arizonan is heard, according to the lawsuit.
The campaign for Kari Lake has already filed a lawsuit. Members of the RNC discreetly observed the polls. They discovered long lines, faulty equipment, a lack of personnel training, and ballot mishandling in which uncounted and counted votes were jumbled together. In addition, several polls have revealed how poorly the election was conducted.
In addition to Lake, the nominee for attorney general, Abraham Hamadeh, had also filed a lawsuit. However, a judge deemed the complaint premature and dismissed it. Hamadeh, who trails his Democratic opponent by 510 votes out of more than 2.5 million ballots, triggered an automatic recount. Hamadeh asserted that malfunctions in Arizona’s most populous jurisdiction and elsewhere altered the results, arguing that the tabulations should be revised and he should be declared the winner.
Judge Warner’s ruling on Hamadeh’s suit did not address the substance of the accusations but stated that Hamadeh might refile the complaint once state authorities certify the result, meaning that he need not wait for the recount to conclude.
KPHO-TV reported that elections for the state school superintendent and a U.S. House representative could swing from Republican to Democrat without the county’s votes.
According to Hobb’s lawsuit, failure to comply with the Thursday deadline will complicate the voting process and create doubt about its integrity.