On Monday, the Democrat who will take over as governor of Arizona, Katie Hobbs, sought a court to punish the Republican who came in second place in the state’s gubernatorial race, Kari Lake, for her unsuccessful attempt to reverse the results of the election.
Lake’s lawsuit that disputed the counting and certification of the November election results was dismissed by a judge in Arizona on Saturday. Lake had filed the action in an effort to be declared the victor of the election despite the absence of evidence of voting fraud.
In a response submitted on Monday evening, the attorneys for Lake noted that the motion brought forth by Maricopa County had “no basis in law or fact,” and they asked the court to reject the request for sanctions.
According to the legal document that Lake’s attorneys submitted to the court, the statement “punishing individuals who bring genuine concerns as plaintiff did here does not enhance any trust in the election process.” In point of fact, penalizing the plaintiff would have the reverse of the desired impact. In the event that a rule of the court was broken or misconduct occurred, the sanction would take the shape of a monetary fine that the judge would issue.
Along with high-ranking officials in Maricopa County, Hobbs, presently serving as Arizona’s secretary of state and will take over as governor the next week, was a target of Lake’s complaint. Her lawsuit alleged that “hundreds of thousands of illicit ballots corrupted the election” in Maricopa County, the county with the most residents in the state.
In a second court filing, Hobbs asked the Superior Court in Maricopa County to give her approximately $600,000 to reimburse her for the fees and expenditures she incurred while defending herself against Lake’s case. This request was made in response to the fact that Hobbs had already incurred these costs.
Lake, a former television news anchor, was one of the most high-profile Republican candidates in the midterm elections to endorse the baseless claims of voter fraud in 2020 made by outgoing Republican President Donald Trump. Lake is running for the seat currently held by Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
Hobbs defeated her in the run for governor, but she refused to acknowledge defeat and continued to make unsubstantiated claims on her Twitter feed about election irregularities. During the midterm elections, Lake was one of the most famous Trump-aligned Republican candidates who competed for state seats in battleground states but ultimately came up short.
We appreciate your time and look forward to hearing your opinions on this topic. In that case, we’d love to hear your sage advice in the space below. To stay on top of these developments, bookmark Journalistpr.com.