An Arizona judge threw out the remainder of Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake‘s claims of election misconduct, saying she failed to prove the allegations that ballots weren’t counted correctly and mishandled in the state’s most populous county.
Every witness brought before the court “was asked about any personal knowledge of both intentional misconduct and intentional misconduct directed to impact the 2022 General Election. Every single witness before the Court disclaimed any personal knowledge of such misconduct,”...
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An Arizona judge threw out the remainder of Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake ‘s claims of election misconduct, saying she failed to prove the allegations that ballots weren’t counted correctly and mishandled in the state’s most populous county.
Every witness brought before the court “was asked about any personal knowledge of both intentional misconduct and intentional misconduct directed to impact the 2022 General Election. Every single witness before the Court disclaimed any personal knowledge of such misconduct,” Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson wrote in the ruling. Mr. Thompson was appointed to the bench by former GOP Gov. Jan Brewer.
“This Judge did not rule in our favor,” said Ms. Lake on Twitter. “However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal his ruling.”
“Today’s ruling in Lake v. Hobbs is a win for Arizona voters and American democracy,” Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates said in a statement.
The dismissal came after a two-day evidentiary hearing held by Judge Thompson on Ms. Lake’s claims that various instances of electoral misconduct caused her to lose the governor’s race to Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Ms. Hobbs oversaw the election but didn’t count ballots. “Another win for democracy,” Ms. Hobbs tweeted about the judge’s decision.
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Ms. Lake had submitted other claims, but those were dismissed previously. Judge Thompson allowed Ms. Lake’s legal team to present evidence on two claims, one involving the handling of malfunctioning ballot printers and another that the county didn’t maintain a proper chain of custody for mail-in ballots.
County officials have said that, despite some issues with ballot tabulators on Election Day, all votes were legally cast and counted. Ms. Hobbs, a Democrat, defeated Ms. Lake by less than 1 percentage point, or 17,000 votes.
Ms. Lake, a former local TV anchor, made election fraud and former President Donald Trump’s false claims about his loss in the 2020 election a centerpiece of her campaign and refused to commit to the results of the 2022 election before it happened. Candidates who aligned themselves closely with Mr. Trump lost their bids in most competitive seats in this year’s elections. Ms. Lake was the most high-profile candidate who refused to concede this year.
Legal challenges from the failed Republican candidates for secretary of state and attorney general have also been dismissed in the state. Abraham Hamadeh, an intelligence officer in the Army Reserve, is roughly 500 votes behind Democrat Kris Mayes, a former state corporation commissioner, in the race for attorney general, which is currently in a recount.
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Ms. Lake’s legal team brought in experts, independent investigators, and people who were present on Election Day, including ballot tabulators, a pollster, and a roving attorney who visited polling locations. Their arguments included indications that many of the ballots weren’t counted properly and that the chain of custody was potentially disrupted.
Ms. Lake’s attorney, Kurt Olsen, said county officials tried to play down the mistakes that were made in the election throughout the hearing, and said the “disconnect here is troubling.”
“You have independent sources talking about mass chaos, and others saying there were only minor technical difficulties that happen in any election,” Mr. Olsen said. “It’s not even close, it’s like two ships passing in the night.”
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“We have put on evidence that the outcome of this election is uncertain,” Mr. Olsen added.
Lawyers for Ms. Hobbs and Maricopa County argued that there was no proof that there was intentional fraud that would have changed the outcome of the election.
“The court gave Ms. Lake a chance to tell her story, to not just spin yarns but to stitch together a coherent narrative,” said Abha Khanna, attorney for Ms. Hobbs. “What we got instead was loose threads and gaping plot holes. We know now that her story is a work of fiction.”
Write to Erin Mulvaney at erin.mulvaney@wsj.com and Eliza Collins at eliza.collins@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
The last name of Kurt Olsen incorrectly was given as Olson in an earlier version of this article. (Corrected on Dec. 24)