Kari Lake , the former Republican candidate who lost her bid for governor of Arizona six months ago, lost another court caseMonday to try to reverse the Democrat Katie Hobbs victory.
In a 6-page ruling, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ruled that Lake had not provided evidence of misconduct in the county’s signature-verification procedures for early ballots.
Lake, a prominent election denier who was formerly a TV anchor lost the gubernatorial contest last year by 17117 votes. He claimed that the race had been marred by fraud and illegal votes.
In November, Thompson rejected Hobbs’ claims about the defective printers in the 2022 elections and other problems — which was upheld by an appeals Court.
The state’s highest court refused to hear the majority of Lake’s appeal against the February ruling in March. But the Arizona Supreme Court sent her claim challenging the signature-verification procedures back to the trial court, saying it had been erroneously dismissed.
Lake described the procedures at the time as a “house” of cards that her team would “get the chance to topple.”
During a trial lasting three days, Lake’s attorneys argued there was evidence showing that lower-level screens who found inconsistencies with signatures passed them up the hierarchy, where higher-level verifyers ignored them, According to Associated Press.
Thompson was appointed by the former Republican Governor. According to the ruling, Jan Brewer found that there was no “clear, convincing evidence” or “a preponderance evidence” that misconduct had been committed by an officer who participated in or made a canvas.
Neither did he find any evidence that the alleged misconduct had an impact on the outcome of the election.
A Lake spokesperson did not respond immediately to a comment request made Monday night.
Contributed by Associated Press
