Former Republican candidate Kari Lake's Democratic rival has already served a month as Arizona's new governor, but Lake is not giving up on her election lawsuit.
Despite losing by more than 17,000 votes, Lake has maintained that she is the "rightful" winner of November's gubernatorial election. In an effort to overturn the results of the contest, she filed a lawsuit alleging that election officials intentionally caused ballot printer malfunctions and intentional violations to ballot chain of custody.
After a Maricopa County judge ruled against Lake in December, she took the case to the Arizona Appellate Court in hopes of winning the case in a higher court.
On Thursday, she provided an update on the lawsuit via Twitter, saying her lawyers expect the legal matter to move "quickly."
If the court rules for Lake, it would send the case back to the trial court. It would not overturn the results of the election, nor will a new race be called.
Lake said the three-judge panel held a private conference on Wednesday to discuss the case and briefs, a standard procedure for any appeal.
"The panel could issue a ruling, or if they have questions, they could ask for supplemental briefing or bring in attorneys for oral argument," Lake tweeted. "Our expectation is the panel will move this case quickly. As soon as I have more information—you'll be the first to know. I will never stop fighting for you Arizona!"
Experts previously told Newsweek that Lake was up against an even tougher challenge in the appeals court than she was in the initial two-day hearing. On Thursday, attorney Norm Eisen told Newsweek that little has changed for the pending outcome of Lake's appeal.
"Kari Lake's appeal is going no place and neither is she," Eisen said. "She certainly is not going to get any relief in terms of ascending to the governorship."
Because Lake's team wouldn't be able to present additional facts or evidence proving her claims in the appellate court, they'd have to find a legal argument that proved the judge set a bar too high for them to prove.
Lake, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, has repeatedly claimed that the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election and the 2020 presidential election were stolen from Republicans.
On Sunday, she called Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs an illegitimate "squatter" in the governor's office during a rally in Scottsdale. Hobbs' victory was certified by outgoing Governor Doug Ducey and outgoing state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, both of whom are Republicans.
Newsweek reached out to Lake for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more
