Unlike what former President Donald J. Trump experienced in his attempt to challenge the 2020 presidential election results in Arizona, Kari Lake just won her case in the state’s largest county.
Maricopa County Superior Court judge Judge Peter A. Thompson has approved Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s request to have ballots inspected as she prepares for trial in her ongoing challenge to the state’s gubernatorial contest.
Lake’s lawyers previously argued that the number of illegal votes cast in the general election exceeded the vote margin between Lake and Hobbs. The lawsuit says evidence was gathered from witnesses showing “hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots infected the election in Maricopa County.”
There were a total of three different kinds of ballots that Thompson gave his approval for Lake’s team to investigate.
These included 50 random “ballot-on-demand” printed ballots that were cast on Election Day, 50 random early ballots cast from “six separate Maricopa County batches,” and 50 random ballot-on-demand printed ballots that were marked as spoiled.
But, according to the judge, Lake’s request to inspect fifty random early ballots taken from envelopes was denied since the state statute prohibits such an inspection.
In Thompson’s order, Lake’s group was given the deadline of Friday, “December 15, 2022,” which appears to be an error in the date, at noon Mountain Standard Time (MST) to provide a ballot inspector. This individual will be able to inspect the ballots beginning at 8:00 a.m. MST on Tuesday, December 20.
In addition, the judge made it clear that the examination must be carried out in a fashion that “does not interfere with any ongoing recount of the 2022 election results.”
Lake received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement earlier this year, after which she surged to win the Republican nomination, but narrowly lost the general election to Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs.
Lake has since contended that election problems in Maricopa County and other municipalities turned away voters and cost her the race.
A campaign account for Lake celebrated the ruling on Twitter, saying “Our lawsuit isn’t based on conspiracy or wild speculation. We have laid out a very clear theory about statutory violations and a broken chain of custody. These ballots deserve close scrutiny and we’re delighted we have been granted it.”
Our lawsuit isn't based on conspiracy or wild speculation.
We have laid out a very clear theory about statutory violations and a broken chain of custody.
These ballots deserve close scrutiny and we're delighted we have been granted it. https://t.co/Tk259zQDAU pic.twitter.com/Jw0OACzgvE
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) December 16, 2022
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