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Republican Kari Lake, who mislaid the contention for Arizona governor, sued authorities elections officials Friday, challenging the ballot counting and certification of the midterm predetermination and asking a tribunal to state her the winner.
Lake, who roseate to nationalist attraction backing erstwhile president Donald Trump’s mendacious claims of 2020 predetermination fraud, was expected to record the suit, which came aft Arizona’s predetermination results were certified Monday.
The suit targets Lake’s opponent, Governor-elect Katie Hobbs (D), who is presently Arizona’s caput of state, on with apical officials successful Maricopa County, the astir populous successful the state. As caput of state, Hobbs certified Arizona’s predetermination results.
In the 70-page lawsuit, Lake asks the Maricopa County Superior Court for an bid “declaring that Kari Lake is the victor of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election,” oregon alternatively throwing retired the results of the predetermination and requiring the region to behaviour a caller election.
Lake is the highest-profile predetermination denier to contention her ain nonaccomplishment in the midterm elections. Most others who mislaid have conceded defeat.
Even earlier midterm voting began, Lake refused to accidental she would judge the results of the gubernatorial predetermination unless she won. She described the contention arsenic “botched” earlier it was called.
The suit repeats unsupported claims that Lake has antecedently made astir Maricopa County’s predetermination and alleges that Hobbs and the region officials person “shattered” nationalist spot successful the predetermination process.
Hobbs’s run called the suit baseless, saying it was a “desperate effort to undermine our ideology and propulsion retired the volition of the voters.”
“Arizonans made their voices heard and elected Katie Hobbs arsenic governor. No nuisance suit volition alteration that,” Hobbs’s run said successful a connection connected Twitter.
Like Trump, Lake has sought to sow uncertainty successful the predetermination results via societal media, asking users to stock their accounts of voting issues successful Maricopa County. She has shared stories of immoderate voters who had to hold successful lines to formed their ballots owed to a printing error.
“The Election Day debacle … preclude[s] the Defendants successful this enactment from certifying Hobbs arsenic the victor of the election,” the suit reads.
The suit partially hinges connected those claims, alleging “illegal” votes and saying Republican voters were “disenfranchised.” There is nary grounds voters could not formed their ballots due to the fact that of the mechanical glitch, according to a report by predetermination officials.
A leaked telephone last period showed that attorneys for her run and the Republican National Committee questioned a lawyer for Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, astir perceived voting problems. After her loss, advisers urged Lake not to assertion the predetermination was stolen, arsenic Trump did successful 2020, The Washington Post reported.
Lake besides asks the judges to bid a “forensic examination” into what the lawsuits lists arsenic problems connected Election Day, to propulsion retired immoderate invalid ballots, and to let her to inspect Maricopa County’s ballots.
Lake’s lawyer and run did not instantly respond to requests from The Post connected Friday.
Meryl Kornfield contributed to this report.
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