Kari Lake recently launched another legal gambit in her quest to see electronic vote-counting machines outlawed in Arizona. She lodged a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court this Tuesday. Fellow 2022 Secretary of State contender Mark Finchem, now pursuing a state Senate seat, joins her in this effort.
The pair submitted a hefty 210-page document to the country’s highest court in the previous week, imploring it to examine their case. They’re putting electronic vote-counting machines under scrutiny, suggesting these gadgets are susceptible to malicious hacks and questioning whether they’ve been adequately tested.
They originally voiced these criticisms in the year 2022, although their arguments faced blanket dismissal due to a deficit of substantiating evidence. Dominion Voting Systems, the manufacturer whose machines find service in Maricopa County and several other states, managed to land a significant settlement in a previous defamation lawsuit against Fox News, as reported by the media company.
Lake, in a closely contested election, was narrowly defeated by the incumbent Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, while Finch suffered a more substantial loss in his run. Anticipating the midterm elections, they sought to outlaw electronic voting devices, first filing their grievances in April 2022.
The plaintiffs stand firm in their conviction that they, and all voters, possess a constitutional and statutory entitlement to an accurate and transparent count of all ballots. They insist that only lawful votes should determine the outcome of each contested office during the midterm elections, as detailed in their complaint submitted last April.
They contend that the inherent insecurity of electronic voting machines makes them unsuitably unreliable and contravenes the constitutional and statutory obligations to safeguard free and fair elections.
U.S. District Judge John Tuchi, who was chosen by former President Obama, ruled that their apprehensions were too theoretical to demonstrate an actual injury, following which he proceeded to dismiss the case. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals later concurred with Tuchi’s judgment.
The subsequent appeal to the country’s supreme legal institution posits: Even though petitioners hadn’t witnessed the 2022 election outcome at the filing time of the fundamental complaint or when the district court gave its ruling, a court might command a ‘do-over’ relief (such as counting the paper ballots) in said election, along with comparable reprieve in impending elections.
This barrage of appeal documents was delivered merely a day prior to Lake tendering well over 10,000 signatures, thereby qualifying her for the August primaries. Lake’s career saw her transitioning from a former television news anchor to a political candidate regularly setting her sights on the media.
“Assurances to the citizens of Arizona were made following the prior election by me, pledging to do whatever I could to defend their sacred privilege of voting. This action is just another stepping stone in that journey,” Lake responded to media last week, advocating the need for a honest electoral system.
Quizzed on whether her continuous doubts being cast upon the electoral integrity might be fostering distrust among the public, Lake retorted with a laugh and a ‘no’. She implored the reporter to become more aware of the manner in which elections are presently administered nationwide, as cited by USA Today.
Recent developments highlight that Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer’s defamation lawsuit against Lake, a fellow Republican, will advance to trial, as per the declaration from the Arizona Supreme Court. Richer responded to Lake’s allegations of his involvement in the electoral manipulations that lead to her defeat at the hands of Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2022, by filing a lawsuit.
He contended that misleading statements put forward by Lake and her team instigated a stream of violent threats towards his kin, besides creating security concerns. Richer solicited redress from the court, while also asking that the purportedly derogatory comments be rescinded by Lake.
Judge Jay Adelman of Maricopa County Superior Court dismissed Lake’s motion to quash the lawsuit last year, stating insufficient evidence to prove that Richer’s litigation was prompted by wrongful motives. This decision was appealed by Lake but dismissed by a panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals. Currently aiming for a U.S. Senate seat, Lake elevated the issue to the Arizona Supreme Court this January, appealing against the decision.
