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Her challenge focused on ballot printer issues at several polling places in Maricopa County, home to over 60% of the state’s voters.
Ballots produced by faulty printers were too thin to be read by on-site counters at polling stations. Amid the chaos, lines retreated in some areas. Lake argued that the ballot printer problem was the result of deliberate misconduct.
County officials say everyone had a chance to vote and all votes were tallied as those affected by the printers were brought to a more sophisticated counter at election headquarters.
In mid-February, the Arizona Court of Appeals dismissed Lake’s claim, concluding that she had provided no evidence that voters whose ballots could not be read by voters at the polling place could not have cast their ballots.
The appeals court confirmed that even witnesses called to testify on Mr. Lake’s behalf may have ultimately counted ballots that could not have been read at the polling place the first time. An investigator testified that the polling station problem disenfranchised enough voters to change the outcome of the election, but the Court of Appeals said his conclusion was unfounded.
Lake’s attorneys also said the chain of ballot storage was broken at an offsite facility where contractors scan mail ballots and prepare them for processing. Lawyers argued that workers piled up their own ballots by mail rather than returning them in the usual way, and that papers documenting the forwarding of ballots were missing. The county disputes the allegations.
Hobbes’ attorney said Lake was trying to discredit the results of the Arizona election and did not provide evidence to support her claims.
Lake faced very long odds in her challenge. This required proving cheating specifically intended to deny her victory, resulting in the wrong woman being declared the winner.
Hobbes became governor on January 2nd.
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