(HorizonPost.com) – Last Thursday, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that losing Republican candidate Kari Lake does not have any evidence that could overturn the results of the state’s 2022 gubernatorial election.
In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the appellate court said while Lake’s arguments highlight “difficulties” faced on election day, her petition for relief “fails” since the evidence she presented to the lower court supported the court’s conclusion that the difficulties did not prevent voters from casting their ballots or having their votes “counted correctly,” therefore, there was no justification for “setting aside the election results.”
Lake filed her appeal late last year after Maricopa County Judge Peter Thompson threw out her lawsuit contesting the outcome of the election.
In his decision, Judge Thompson said Lake would have to prove that the Maricopa County printer malfunctions were caused by intentional misconduct and that there were sufficient “identifiable” votes lost to alter the outcome of the election. Judge Thompson determined that Lake failed to meet the intentional misconduct standard since every witness called at the trial “disclaimed any personal knowledge of misconduct.”
The judge noted that the court couldn’t “accept speculation or conjecture” and concluded that without “clear and convincing evidence” of misconduct, Democrat Katie Hobbs’ victory stands.
In their appeal, lawyers for Lake argued that Judge Thompson was wrong to require Lake to provide clear and convincing evidence of intentional misconduct.
However, in the unanimous appellate court ruling, written by Chief Judge Kent Cattani, the court found that Lake did have to provide a “competent mathematical basis” rather than “an untethered assertion of uncertainty” to conclude that the outcome of the election would have been “plausibly” different.
In a tweet after the appellate court ruled against her, Lake reiterated that she already planned to take her case “all the way” to the state Supreme Court, adding, “Buckle up, America!”
The Arizona Supreme Court previously rejected Lake’s attempt to bypass the Court of Appeals.
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