Kari Lake celebrated the news that her election integrity case will be allowed to proceed to trial. In a tweet from her official Campaign Twitter account, the message was simple but full of hope: “We will have our day in court!”
A court in Arizona found that two of ten claims submitted by the former Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake challenging Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs’ election victory can go to trial. Eight of the ten allegations in Lake’s election case were rejected by Maricopa County Superior Judge Peter Thompson because they did not meet the standards for election challenges under Arizona law.
The two counts that Judge decided to allow to continue onward involved intentional malice due to significant tabulator and printer malfunctions and ballot chain custody concerns. Judge Thompson did not declare his stance on her accusations but stated that Lake might submit her case in accordance with the law.
Eight of the Republican’s allegations, including a violation of free expression, improper signatures on mail-in votes, and “censorship” efforts by Democratic nominee Katie Hobbs and the Maricopa County Recorder, were rejected.
Lake responded to the news of the trial on Twitter. Lake tweeted that her Election Case is proceeding to trial, and Katie Hobbs’s effort to get her lawsuit dismissed FAILED. She must take the stand and testify.
“Buckle up, America.” Lake went on to add that this was “this is far from over. “
The two-day trial will occur prior to January 2. No specific date has yet been specified. The current Secretary of State of Arizona, Katie Hobbs, must testify in court. Hobbs presently leads Lake by 17,000 votes. It was recently reported that an internal email chain showed a discrepancy of 15,000 to 16,0000 unaccounted ballots in Maricopa County.
Judge Thompson said that Lake must demonstrate at trial that someone tampered with the printers in violation of Arizona law, that the interference caused her to lose votes, and that these lost votes altered the outcome of the election.
Concerning the problem of the chain of custody, Lake said that workers of the county’s ballot contractor violated the “County Election Manual” by adding the ballots of family members and failing to get an “Inbound Receipt of Delivery.” Judge Thompson stated that whether the county followed its own manual and applicable laws is a factual argument, not a legal one.
The following are the eight dismissed counts:
- Count I: Violation of Free Speech
- Count III – Invalid Signatures on Mail-In Ballots
- Count V – Equal Protection
- Count VI – Due Process
- Count VII – Secrecy Clause
- Count VIII – Incorrect Certification
- Count IX – Insufficient Remedies
- Count X – Constitutional Rights
The former news presenter asserted that “thousands of people, disproportionately Republican, gave up voting because of the long lines or just avoided the polls after hearing about the commotion.