Republican candidate for US Senate Kari Lake has once again failed to convince Arizona judges that she was the real winner of the 2022 gubernatorial election.
An Arizona Court of Appeals panel on Tuesday ruled on Lake’s appeal of a December 2022 ruling by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson declaring that Gov. Katie Hobbs had won the election.
Judge Sean Brearcliffe, one of the judges on the panel, noted in the ruling that Lake argued that more than 8,000 ballots were “maliciously misconfigured to cause a tabulator rejection” and were not counted.
“The court rejected Lake’s contention that 8,000 ‘affected’ votes means 8,000 uncounted votes, and found, based on the evidence presented at oral argument, that Lake’s argument was an ‘unsupported bare assertion,'” the court said by profession.
The three-judge panel also pointed out that Lake lost the election to Hobbs, a Democrat, by about 17,000 votes. Brearcliffe noted that regardless of the ruling, the rift between Lake and Hobbs would not have been closed.
“Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, the vote difference between Lake and Hobbs in the election was more than 17,000 votes. Even if 8,000 uncounted votes had gone to Lake, that would not have been enough to close this gap,” Brearcliffe said.
The court also warned that a ruling in Lake’s favor could wreak havoc on future election challenges, potentially upsetting the balance between “accuracy and finality.”
The case led to Lake’s attorney being disciplined for lying
Bryan Blehm, an attorney who represented Lake in her 2022 lawsuit, was recently banned from practicing law for 60 days for lying in the case.
He was also fined by the Arizona Supreme Court for his statements in defense of Lake, claiming it was the “undisputed fact” that nearly 36,000 ballots were added to the results, leading to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ victory with approximately 17,000 votes. Even the Arizona Supreme Court had made it clear that there was no evidence to support Blehm’s claim.
When his driver’s license is reinstated, Blehm will be placed on probation for one year. Blehm will also be required to complete five hours of additional legal education in ethics and professional responsibility, “preferably related to litigation and advocacy,” the order reads.
Tuesday’s loss is the latest in a string of defeats for Lake’s campaign of election denial, one of the most famous of which came earlier this year at the United States Supreme Court.
Arizona Republic reporter Stacey Barchenger contributed to this article.
Reach the reporter at fernando.cervantes@arizonarepublic.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake Rejected by Arizona Court in 2022 Governorship Election Appeal
