Maricopa County Files Response in Kari Lake’s Supreme Court Lawsuit

The Republican nominee for governor of Arizona, Kari Lake, speaks at Arizona First Rally in Phoenix, Arizona on Nov. 3, 2022. NTD

Attorneys with Arizona’s Maricopa County filed a response to GOP candidate Kari Lake’s lawsuit that she took to the state Supreme Court, arguing that Lake’s team has failed to present any new arguments after the state Court of Appeals rejected her case several weeks ago.

“Lake’s Petition utterly fails at fulfilling its limited task,” Maricopa’s lawyers stated. “It does not present any argument illustrating a need for this Court to review the court of appeals’ opinion. It does not identify a single novel legal issue that this Court needs to clarify. And it does not identify any legal precedent that should be overturned or abrogated. Instead, the Petition is almost entirely a regurgitation of petitioner Kari Lake’s failed arguments before the trial court and the court of appeals.”

Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court agreed to expedite hearing Lake’s election lawsuit and set a March 21 date to consider whether it will accept the petition. During that conference, the court will also decide on whether to hear oral arguments, according to a brief order.

Lake initially filed a legal challenge with a Maricopa County court and asserted that there were enough Election Day-related problems that suppressed Republicans from turning out to vote for her on Nov. 8 before a judge, Peter Thompson, rejected it after a two-day trial in December. The Court of Appeals rejected it about two months later, also saying she did not provide enough evidence that would warrant the courts to initiate a re-do of the election in Maricopa County.

Officials said Lake, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, lost the midterm election to Democrat Katie Hobbs by some 17,000 votes. After the Supreme Court agreed to expedite her challenge, she wrote on social media to “pray for the judges.”

In her latest appeal, Lake’s attorneys argued that Maricopa County election officials intentionally caused problems on Nov. 8 via vote-tabulation machines that created delays as well as long lines at dozens of Maricopa polling locations in what she said was an attempt to quash GOP voters. Maricopa County officials, she added, mingled illegal ballots with legal ones.

“The evidence and testimony presented at the Arizona Senate Committee on Elections meeting on January 23, 2023, showed more than 7,000 ballots being rejected by vote center tabulators every 30 minutes from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm—totaling over 217,000 rejected ballot insertions on a day with approximately 248,000 votes cast,” Lake’s suit said.

Bill Gates, chair of the Maricopa Board of Supervisors, speaks about voting machine malfunctions at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Elections Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 9, 2022. Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images

Lawyers for Maricopa County on Monday categorically rejected Lake’s claims. “Because all of the arguments raised in the petition for review were already thoroughly refuted in both the trial court and court of appeals, this Court should deny the petition,” they wrote.

Previously, Maricopa officials denied the GOP candidate’s claims that there was intentional malfeasance on behalf of county officials on Election Day. Previously, Maricopa blamed widespread printing issues on ink toner, saying it wasn’t dark enough and that some ballots couldn’t be read by machines.

In December’s trial, a county official told Judge Thompson that some 17,000 ballots ended up in secure ballot boxes across the county. There is “no reason to believe” that any of the problems were intentionally caused and that “all the votes get transferred to the duplicated ballot that gets duplicated and tabulated,” Jarrett said.

What’s Next

Regardless of whether the Supreme Court takes up Lake’s challenge, her future appears to be bright in the Republican Party. There has been speculation saying Lake could pursue the U.S. Senate seat during Arizona’s 2024 race—a seat that is currently held by now-independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

A recent straw poll conducted at the Conservative Action Political Conference (CPAC) found that she was the No. 1 Republican choice for vice president, beating out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Lake got 20 percent of the vote, Haley nabbed 10 percent, and DeSantis acquired 14 percent in the vice presidential poll.

In response, Lake wrote last week that she is still focusing on her legal challenges amid speculation about her political future. Several weeks ago, a Lake spokesperson confirmed that she met with Republican Senate leadership but divulged few details to news outlets.

“We’re flattered, but unfortunately our legal team says the Constitution won’t allow for her to serve as Governor and VP at the same time,” Lake wrote on one of her Twitter accounts.