PHOENIX — Judge Peter Thompson with the Maricopa County Superior Court is deciding whether to throw out an election-challenging lawsuit filed by Republican Kari Lake after she lost the gubernatorial race.
Lake's legal challenge alleges issues with equipment, signature verification, and lines to vote on Election Day disenfranchised voters.
But attorneys for Maricopa County and Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs say Lake’s lawsuit doesn’t allege actual facts but instead contains unwarranted speculation.
The motion to dismiss the case was filed on Dec. 15, days before Monday's hearing.
"[Lake's case] is an elaborate tale with a shocking, late-hour twist that she hopes will turn her defeat into a victory," said one of the defense attorneys. "But as it turns out, the 2022 General Election in Arizona wasn't all that interesting."
The defense argued that issues faced during the election, such as long lines and malfunctioning ballot printers, were routine technical errors possible in any election: Not evidence of foul play or voter disenfranchisement.
Lake was once again represented by Kurt Olsen. Olsen previously signed off on a dismissed motion to require a hand count of Arizona ballots.
"We normally don't have chaos, as Supervisor Gates characterized the election shortly after November 8th," Olsen claimed.
Olsen also claimed that roughly two-thirds of vote centers experienced issues with their tabulators on Election Day citing "our own evidence from sworn affidavits."
The hearing convened for Judge Thompson to make his decision. If he doesn't toss the case, hearings could drag on until Dec. 27.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Corte del Condado Maricopa en audiencia por la demanda de Kari Lake sobre la elección
Similar suits were recently filed by Republican Attorney General candidate Abe Hamadeh and Republican Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem after they lost their respective races.
Finchem's suit was dismissed with prejudice, and hearings for whether to dismiss Hamadeh's suit are scheduled for Monday afternoon.
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