Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake brought forth a civil complaint Friday to overturn her election defeat and declare her the winner.
Claiming that voting tabulations were rife with illegal votes, Lake is also seeking the opportunity to “inspect” Maricopa County ballots, strike “invalid” ballots, and have a trial for any disputed factual claims in the matter.
KARI LAKE PREVIEWS LEGAL FIGHT OVER ARIZONA ELECTION RESULTS: ‘IT’S GOING TO BE REAL UGLY’
“An order setting aside the certified result of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election and declaring Kari Lake is the winner of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election,” one of the demands for relief in her complaint declared.
“LFG,” Lake wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of the complaint. “If the process was illegitimate then so are the results. Stay tuned, folks. Furthermore, if the process was legitimate then so are the results. Let’s find out.”
Democrat Katie Hobbs amassed a 1,287,891 to 1,270,774 vote edge over Lake in the election, per the results certified at a canvassing ceremony on Monday night in the state Capitol. So far, Lake has refused to concede that her loss was legitimate and instead opted to wage a court battle.
The 70-page complaint was filed in the Superior Court for the State of Arizona and in and for Maricopa County. It lists Hobbs, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, Bill Gates, and others as plaintiffs. She is also demanding that Hobbs, the secretary of state, be recused from overseeing the review of the election.
Lake has trafficked in claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. She has also cast aspersions on Maricopa County’s conduct in that election, which had become a hotbed for denialism of Trump’s 2020 loss.
Last month, Lake filed a public records petition against Maricopa County over her 2022 election loss, demanding records on how the elections were managed.
“Nobody believes it. FACT. Our elections are a sham I will fight to restore honesty & transparency to elections in Arizona and America,” she recently tweeted about the certification of the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race.
Hobbs’s campaign scoffed at the complaint, and was adamant that the governor-elect plans to “hit the ground running on Day One.”
“Kari Lake needs attention like a fish needs water — and independent experts and local election officials of both parties have made clear that this was a safe, secure, and fair election,” Hobbs’s campaign manager said in a statement. “Arizonans made their voices heard and elected Katie Hobbs as their governor.”
A statement from our campaign manager on Kari Lake’s latest desperate attempt to undermine our democracy and throw out the will of the voters.
Baseless lawsuits don’t vote. Arizonans do. pic.twitter.com/rcN5OPjdPa
— Gov-Elect Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) December 10, 2022
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County officials have long spurned allegations from Lake and others that malfeasance transpired in the 2020 or 2022 elections.
“The court system is the proper place for campaigns challenging the results to make their case. Maricopa County respects the election contest process and looks forward to sharing facts about the administration of the 2022 General Election and our work to ensure every legal voter had an opportunity to cast their ballot,” the county said in a statement after the filing.
