An Arizona appeals court on Thursday concluded that MAGA adherent Kari Lake did not have the proof to reverse the election results of her unsuccessful 2022 gubernatorial run.
Lake claims, without providing evidence, that her 17,000-vote loss to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) was the consequence of massive election fraud, and that her contest was rigged from the start, according to a report by The Washington Examiner.
“Lake’s arguments highlight Election Day difficulties, but her request for relief fails because the evidence presented to the superior court ultimately supports the court’s conclusion that voters were able to cast their ballots, that votes were counted correctly, and that no other basis justifies setting aside the election results,” the appellate ruling reads.
Lake Has Pushed Back
Lake filed the appeal after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson dismissed her petition attempting to overturn the decision.
Thompson, who was nominated to the bench by former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, decided that the court had found no “clear or compelling” evidence of Lake’s alleged deliberate wrongdoing.
Thompson also stated in his December judgment that none of the witnesses Lake presented testified that they had any personal knowledge of impropriety or wrongdoing, concluding that “the court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence.”
Lake has cited voting machine malfunctions and printing issues as proof that the deck was stacked against her. She has already stated her intention to take her case to the Arizona Supreme Court.
“I told you we would take this case all the way to the Arizona Supreme Court, and that’s exactly what we are going to do,” she tweeted after the ruling was handed down. “Buckle up, America!”
Even before she lost her gubernatorial run in November, Lake stated that she would only accept the results of her election if she won. Lake is one of the country’s most outspoken election skeptics, and he has former President Donald Trump’s blessing to keep fighting.
Outside Take on Lake
Last month, Trump called into a rally Lake was holding in Scottsdale, saying she would be “victorious” in her efforts.
Lake has spent months on social media hyping “bombshell” electoral disclosures, but her assertions have yet to materialize. However, Lake got into trouble in January after tweeting images of 16 voter signatures.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Arizona’s top election official, urged Attorney General Kris Mayes to investigate Lake’s activities, stating that displaying the signatures violates state and election rules and is a felony. Records containing a voter’s signature in Arizona are prohibited from being accessed or duplicated by anybody other than the voter.
Tim LaSota, Lake’s lawyer, termed the investigation “another attempt to weaponize the legal system with bogus claims against a Republican.”
“Adrian Fontes selectively quotes the statute in an attempt to distort the law and smear Kari Lake in the process,” he said in a written statement. “Kris Mayes should immediately say that she will have no part in this shameful, disgusting effort.”
