On Friday, defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake filed a lawsuit with the Arizona Superior Court that challenges certification of her 2022 election results, claiming that Maricopa County created a “debacle” leading to her electoral defeat.
“If the process was illegitimate, then so are the results. Stay tuned, folks,” Lake shared with her nearly one million followers on Twitter Friday evening above a photo of the filing with the caption “LFG.”
Maricopa County is the largest district in Arizona. It includes Phoenix and its surrounding neighborhoods. Voting tabulation errors due to printer problems on November 8 affected nearly one-third of all polling places in the county.
Lake believes these technical errors led to the disenfranchisement of county voters. However, a state investigation into the matter stated that the complications did not compromise the election’s integrity.
Fellow Arizona Republicans were skeptical of Lake’s claims. Bill Gates, the Chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, bemoaned the technical issues, calling them “unfortunate,” while reassuring the public that “every voter had an opportunity to cast a vote on Election Day,” CNN reports.
Lake has been a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and has repeatedly defended the idea that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent and stolen. Lake continued voicing similar rhetoric throughout her recent midterm election bid, saying less than a week after Election Day of the results: “Arizonans know BS when they see it.”
Despite it being mathematically impossible for Lake to win the election, Lake told Steve Bannon on his podcast, “I still have hope that we’re gonna win this. I want you to know that. This is not hyperbole.”
Lake’s opponent, the Democrat Katie Hobbs, dismissed Lake’s latest move as a “sham lawsuit” and publicity stunt. “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 tweeted Friday.
Less than 20,000 votes separated Lake from Hobbs, who previously served as Arizona’s Secretary of State.