Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County authorities, citing election law breaches and requesting data linked to Election Day printing problems.
At least 70 of the 223 polling stations in Maricopa County, the state’s most populated county, experienced issues with printers and tabulation machines on election day, November 8.
Wednesday’s lawsuit was “basically just a way for the courts to exert pressure on Maricopa County to provide us with the public records we have been requesting,” Lake said.
The Republican criticized county officials for their handling of “Election Day voters,” including printing problems and three-hour lineups.
Lake declared, “We cannot permit such an election to stand.”
According to The Daily Wire, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Arizona attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh filed a lawsuit against election officials the previous day in State Superior Court in Maricopa County, alleging “a multitude of errors and inaccuracies” during the 2022 election process.
Hamadeh stated in a statement, “Large-scale errors by our election officials led to the disenfranchisement of countless Arizonans, silencing their voices.” “Arizonans deserve a transparent and fair electoral system, but we have neither at present. The only way to restore faith in our damaged election system is to meet the challenge of the day.”
In a press release issued on Tuesday evening, Hamadeh stated that the 25-page complaint “details a number of errors surrounding the administration of the General Election in November 2022, including alleged election board misconduct, the tallying of unlawful ballots, and the incorrect counting of votes.”
Mark Brnovich, the departing attorney general of Arizona, instructed Maricopa County authorities on November 19 to provide a report on the county’s election management.
The letter asserts that there is evidence, including first-hand witness testimony, of “statutory violations” in the dispute over whom Katie Hobbs serves as secretary of state. Hobbs, a Democrat, is predicted to defeat Lake in the race for governor of Arizona.
Additionally, at least two Arizona counties, Cochise County and Mohave County have stated that their certification of the 2022 election would be postponed until the November 28 deadline.
The two Republican supervisors in Cochise County voted for the postponement on November 18 in response to claims that the county’s vote-tallying devices were not properly certified.
Director of State Elections Kori Lorick warned the board that the state will sue if certification was not completed on time.
As a protest over voting difficulties in Maricopa County, Mohave County apparently chose to postpone a 50-50 vote.
