Arizona Judge Rules on Kari Lake’s Election Lawsuit

Republican Arizona gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake (L) and Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Getty Images

An Arizona judge ruled against Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s election case, confirming the election of Katie Hobbs as Arizona governor-elect.

The court didn’t find any clear or convincing evidence that misconduct happened during the 2022 Arizona general election and confirmed Katie Hobbs’s election, Arizona Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson said in the ruling.

Thompson also ordered Hobbs’s side to file a statement of costs and motion for sanctions before Dec. 26.

Lake vowed to appeal the ruling.

“My Election Case provided the world with evidence that proves our elections are run outside of the law. This Judge did not rule in our favor. However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal his ruling,” she wrote in a social media post.

The Epoch Times reached out to Lake’s campaign.

Hobbs, who is currently the secretary of state, certified the results of the gubernatorial election on Dec. 5, which show Lake lost the race to Hobbs by just over 17,000 votes.

Judge Credits Witnesses, Dismisses Misconduct Allegation

Thompson ruled earlier this week that two out of ten claims brought by Lake can go to trial, including Lake’s claims about intentional interference with ballot printers and chain-of-custody problems.

The judge credited Lake’s key witnesses Mark Sonnenklar and Heather Honey, but rejected the claims that intentional misconduct happened during the midterm election.

Sonnenklar, an election attorney with the Republican National Committee, testified that tabulators failed to accept ballots at multiple locations.

“The Court credits the personal observations of Mr. Sonnenklar and does not doubt his knowledge or his veracity. But the Court cannot follow Mr. Sonneklar to ascribing intentional misconduct to any party,” read the ruling.

Thompson drew a similar conclusion about Honey’s chain of custody claim.

“Every one of Plaintiff’s witnesses—and for that matter, Defendants’ witnesses as well—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,” Thompson wrote in his ruling.

“The Court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence,” he concluded.

‘Malicious Intent’ Proven: Lake

Thompson’s ruling came after a two-day trial in a Mesa, Arizona, courtroom.

Lake insisted in a statement after the trial that malicious intent was proven by her witnesses.

“We provided expert testimony. We provided experts. The other side brought in activists to try to save face. They admitted that they’ve known about these ballot problems,” Lake said.

Her lawyers “proved without a shadow of a doubt that there was malicious intent that caused disruption so great it changed the results of the election,” Lake said, adding, “We demand fair, honest, transparent elections, and we will get them. And I pray so hard for this judge.”

Abha Khanna, a lawyer representing Hobbs, told the courtroom in Maricopa County that Lake’s attorneys have not established whether printer problems on Election Day were intentional acts that would have changed the race’s outcome had they not occurred. At the trial’s closing arguments Thursday, Khanna said Lake’s claims were based on hearsay, speculation, and theatrics.

“What we got instead was just loose threads and gaping plot holes. We know now that her story was a work of fiction,” Khanna said.

Read the Judge’s Ruling:

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.