The Arizona Supreme Court has ordered court proceedings to take place “forthwith.” This new order is regarding Kari Lake’s election challenge on Maricopa County’s alleged violations of its signature verification practices. The courts’ decision has granted one sanction but is denying attorneys’ fees requested by the defendants.
I am so excited that our case is moving forward!
I will not stop until we restore election integrity to the good people of Arizona. https://t.co/FqLqRE8srg
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) May 6, 2023
Lake fell short of a win in the Arizona GOP gubernatorial race by about 17,000 votes against then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Lake is suing Hobbs, who is the current Democratic governor, in addition to current Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Maricopa County election officials.
In March, the Arizona Supreme Court reviewed the case, which remanded one of her seven counts to the trial court. However, it did allow sanctions against Lake to be considered. The remanded count in Lake’s suit was that Maricopa County violated its signature verification policies.
The media has their narrative. We have the truth.
We look forward to showing the public that the signature verification process in Maricopa County is an absolute sham.
We're moving forward.
https://t.co/HNx8Ie3ifH— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) May 5, 2023
The Maricopa County Superior Court took up the remanded item. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court granted the defendant’s request for $2,000 in sanctions against Lake’s counsel. They argued that Lake “asserting ‘the undisputed fact that 35,563 unaccounted for ballots were added to the total number of ballots,’ and for repeating such false assertions in an additional filing in this proceeding.”
The court also ordered “that the trial court shall forthwith conduct such proceedings as appropriate to resolve” the allegations regarding signature verification.
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"All but one minor sanction requested to be imposed on Lake’s legal team were shot down & the court ordered the signature verification audit to be expedited. Other than the minor $2,000 fine over poor legal wording, today was a victory for Team Kari." https://t.co/QqPLryq0k0— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) May 5, 2023
Rasmussen Reports tweeted an update, they reported that “Apparently upwards of 300,000 mail ballots in Maricopa County Arizona will now be checked for missing or mismatched signature issues in a race that has captured international attention and is divided by less than 15,000 ‘votes.’ Waiting to see the actual court order.”