Lake lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs by about 17,000 votes in the November 8 election. A central tenet of his gubernatorial campaign was to support former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
After her defeat, Ms. Lake refused to concede defeat and sued to have the result overturned under Arizona election laws. She seeks to obtain the organization of a new election or to be declared the winner.
Maricopa County Judge Peter Thompson denied most of Lake’s claims, but allowed two to proceed in a two-day trial.
Lake claimed that printer problems in Maricopa County on Election Day prevented thousands of voters from casting their ballots, which the county said was untrue.
Lake must meet a high evidentiary threshold to succeed at trial – he must essentially prove that county election officials and a private contractor intentionally took steps to influence the election and that their conduct is the reason Lake lost. Hobbs.
The county denies any wrongdoing. Hobbs will not testify at trial.
Thompson will eventually render his decision in time to give the losing side a chance to appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court. Hobbs is due to be sworn in on January 2.
At a Conservative rally earlier this week, Lake expressed confidence in the success of his trial. Marc Elias, an election attorney whose firm represents Hobbs, said on Twitter that Lake was unlikely to win under the law.
“Proving intentional wrongdoing and that it affected the outcome of the election will be impossible for Lake,” Elias wrote.