Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, and Kari Lake confer earlier this year on the House floor. A federal judge ordered sanctions against attorneys representing failed Republican candidates Finchem and Lake in their lawsuit against the Secretary of State and Maricopa County that sought to ban the use of electronic vote tabulators and force a hand count of ballots. || Capitol Media Services file photo by Howard Fischer
By Howard Fischer || Capitol Media Services
The top two Republicans who lost their races for state office last month are making a new legal bid in their separate efforts to outlaw the use of machines to tabulate votes in Arizona.
In a 67-page filing with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Kari Lake who ran for governor and Mark Finchem who was defeated in his bid for secretary of state, essentially reiterate the claims they made before a trial judge “that electronic voting systems are subject to intrusion and manipulation and cannot be relied upon to secure, correct vote tallies in public elections.” Attorneys for the pair cited various reports about how others have shown the machines can be hacked and totals altered.
But the essence of their plea to the appellate panel is that U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi never gave them a chance to make their case. Instead, he dismissed their claims, saying they were little more than speculation on their part, backed not by evidence of actual problems in Arizona but instead “vague” allegations about electronic voting systems generally.
Tuchi also said neither Lake nor Finchem proved that they actually are being harmed by the current system, something the judge said is necessary prior to bringing suit in federal court.
And earlier this month, in a subsequent ruling, the judge ordered the lawyers for the pair to pay the legal fees of Maricopa County. Tuchi said Lake and Finchem, along with their attorneys, filed a “frivolous” action, saying they “baselessly kicked up a cloud of dust” and ignored procedures the state has put in place to ensure that elections are secure and reliable.
“It is to make clear that the court will not condone litigants … furthering false narratives that baselessly undermine public trust at a time of increasing disinformation about, and distrust in, the democratic process,” Tuchi wrote. And he said the sanctions “send a message to those who might file similarly baseless suits in the future.”
