Failed Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has bemoaned the results of a probe suggesting election officials had no reason to suspect there would be any problems with the state's Election Day ballot printers.
Best known for her years as a local news anchor in the Phoenix area, Lake made the transition to politics with a run for governor last year. As an outspoken loyalist of former President Donald Trump and supporter of his false claims about election fraud, Lake secured his endorsement and ultimately the GOP nomination.
Despite a close race, Lake to Democrat Katie Hobbs, part of a broader trend in the 2022 midterms of Trump-backed, election-denying candidates being rejected by voters. Lake has, however, yet to concede the race to Hobbs, alleging that voter fraud and other issues were to blame for the loss. Despite her lack of electoral success, Lake has remained a prominent Republican figure, appearing at the most recent CPAC as guest speaker.
Among the issues that she pointed to were the problems with ballot printers that impacted voters in Maricopa County, which led to long lines for many and widespread confusion. Reports indicated that the printers produced ballots that were too light to be properly tabulated by other machines on hand. Lake has alleged that these issues disproportionately affected and disenfranchised her voters, though her attempts to bring the matter to court were dismissed and further research found that voters in Democratic-leaning areas were also impacted.
On Tuesday, a probe into the printer issues led by former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor produced a report detailing its findings, concluding that the issues were the result of machine failure caused by the use of heavier and longer ballot paper. The report recommended a return to paper formats previously used, and more rigorous stress-testing to avoid future issues.
"But nothing we learned in our interviews or document reviews gave any clear indication that the problems should have been anticipated," the report stated.
In an official response shared to Twitter, Lake's official campaign account dismissed the findings as "a farce."
"Maricopa County has released the results of their internal investigation & has SHOCKINGLY found themselves not guilty of any crime," the tweet read. "We told you this was a farce. These people don't think your vote or your opinion matters. And anyone who takes the results of this "investigation" seriously is part of the problem."
Newsweek has reached out to the Maricopa County Board of Elections via its official website for a response.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
