Republican Abe Hamadeh, who was defeated in the race for attorney general by Democrat Kris Mayes by about 500 votes, also filed a lawsuit that was in stark contrast to the others, because he explicitly pleaded no fraud or willful misconduct, but attempted eliminate or add votes Hamadeh claims were counted incorrectly. That race is headed for a recount.
Lake’s 70-page lawsuit contains a laundry list of issues and allegations related to the Nov. 8 election, including echoing many allegations she’s filed in recent weeks about long lines and printer problems causing “chaos” at voting locations. She claims that “hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots have contaminated the election in Maricopa County.”
The lawsuit also references issues raised and repeatedly debunked in the wake of the 2020 presidential contest and subsequent Arizona Senate review of the Maricopa County election.
Aides to Hobbs, who have begun hiring staff to serve her in the governor’s office, called Lake’s far-reaching lawsuit a “nuisance” and a “sham.”
“Kari Lake needs attention like a fish needs water,” Hobbs campaign manager Nicole DeMont said in a statement. “And independent experts and local election officials from both parties have made it clear that this was a safe, secure and fair election.”
“Arizonas raised their voices,” the statement continued. Hobbs will take office on January 2.
Kate Hobbs: Certifies Arizona’s election in 2022 at a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol
Lake’s claims reflect 2020
Lake alleges First Amendment violations committed by Hobbs, whose staffer in the Secretary of State’s office flagged Twitter posts as misinformation before Hobbs even entered the race — an issue that has led to another fallacious election theory.
Many of the claims in Lake’s lawsuit lacked supporting evidence, or were alleged to come from eyewitness or “expert” accounts that The Arizona Republic could not independently verify.
The lawsuit alleges that “deliberate misconduct” led to problems with machines and that ballots were “illegally” injected into the election by county contractors. She claims that between 15,600 and 26,200 voters were disenfranchised by “catastrophic failures of tabulators” on polling sites on Election Day, although the problems were actually printer-related, citing a poll of 800 voters as a basis for extrapolating that tens of thousands were disenfranchised. .
The lawsuit spends pages referencing claims filed after the 2020 Maricopa County election, including over signature verification. Two years ago, that razor-thin contest saw Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump for the White House and spark a months-long election review that cost taxpayers millions of dollars just to prove Biden’s victory.
The case has several ties to the 2020 review and election, just as Lake’s campaign for governor centered on her belief that Trump won that race. One of Lake’s attorneys is Bryan Blehm, whose duplication for 2020 review contractor Cyber Ninjas and the Arizona Senate raised concerns about conflict. Lake’s second attorney is Kurt Olsen, a Washington, D.C. attorney who helped with a lawsuit against the 2020 election results that was dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The lawsuit was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court and names Hobbs, the members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Maricopa County Elections Director Scott Jarrett and Recorder Stephen Richer as defendants. The county issued one statement in response to the spate of election cases filed Friday, noting that the court system is the right path for election challenges.
“Maricopa County respects the election process and looks forward to sharing facts about the administration of the 2022 general election and our work to ensure that every legal voter had an opportunity to cast their vote,” the statement read.
Finchem and Zink are going to court together
The claims filed by Finchem, the losing candidate for secretary of state, and former Congressional hopeful Zink are based on three key allegations, which they say gave Democrats an unfair advantage on Nov. 8.
Voters were disenfranchised due to problems with the voting machine in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous county, which prevented printers from reading ballots in about 30% of polling stations. They say voters were forced to wait in long lines or deposit ballots in a box to be counted later.
Hobbs had a conflict of interest overseeing the election because she was running for governor and refused to withdraw. They say Hobbs “abused her office” by threatening county officials who delayed the election’s certification with criminal charges.
Hobbs failed to properly certify the tabulation machines in the state, allowing the “uninspected and unverified machines to have widespread failures.”
Finchem, a state representative from Oro Valley, also alleged in the lawsuit, without direct evidence, that Hobbs and his Democratic challenger, Secretary of State-elect Adrian Fontes, conspired with Twitter to censor and suspend his social media account at the height of the elections. season.
For subscribers: Deleted Tweets Unleash New GOP Election Conspiracy About Katie Hobbs
Finchem lost the election by more than 120,000 votes. Zink lost his highly anticipated race against incumbent Democrat Ruben Gallego by 76,124 votes.
Finchem was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and Zink was endorsed by AZ MAGA, a non-profit organization dedicated to getting conservatives elected. Both contested the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Both men were outside the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the building in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the election results. Zink’s son, Ryan Zink, was arrested and charged with several charges related to the riot, including trespassing and obstruction. He has pleaded not guilty.
Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at [email protected] or 480-416-5669. Follow her on Twitter @sbarchenger.
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