The next day, Saturday, Lake declared that she would be appealing.
Republican Kari Lake was unsuccessful in having the election for governor of Arizona
overturned as the judge who heard the case sided with Democrat Katie Hobbs.
Judge Peter Thompson of the Maricopa County Superior Court, appointed by Republican
Governor Jan Brewer, decided on Saturday that the court could not find clear and compelling
proof of the widespread misconduct that Lake had asserted had impacted the result of the 2022
general election.
The judge rejected Lake’s claim that suspicious activity at several polling places contributed to
problems with ballot printers on Election Day.
As Thompson phrased it, “the court cannot accept guessing or assumption” in the absence of
substantial evidence.
While the judge acknowledged the voters’ “anger and frustration,” he noted that revoking
election results “had never been done in the history of the United States.”
Maricopa County is home to more than 60% of Arizona’s votes, so any problems with ballot
printing were a top priority for Lake’s legal team. The onsite tabulators could not read the ballots
generated by the defective machines because of their low contrast. When the commotion finally
subsided, the lines had already begun to back up.
According to Lake’s attorneys, when a third-party contractor scanned ballots received in the mail
before processing, this broke the ballots’ chain of custody. They claim that workers tossed their
ballots into a big pile instead of passing them individually and that further paperwork was
needed to prove that the votes had been properly transferred. The county vehemently denies
liability.
Lake tweeted about her plan to challenge the ruling.
Lake demonstrated to the world through “My Election Case” that American elections are “run
outside of the law,” as he put it in a tweet. “Unfortunately, the judge did not rule in our favor. To
restore voter faith and trust in our democratic process, however, I plan to contest his judgment.”