Lake v. Hobbs – 2022 Election Contest (AZ)
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On Dec. 9, 2022, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake filed an election contest in Maricopa County Superior Court, claiming that the results of the governor’s race should be overturned. States United and Coppersmith Brockelman PLC served as pro bono co-counsel to defendant Katie Hobbs, who ran against Lake and won, in what was then her official capacity as secretary of state.
On Dec. 15, Hobbs filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that there was no evidence to support Lake’s claims or to overturn the will of the voters. For example, there was no evidence of “intentional interference” or “hacking” of Maricopa County’s election equipment on Election Day, and Lake’s claims regarding supposed chain-of-custody issues for ballots were purely speculative.
On Dec. 19, Judge Peter A. Thompson dismissed eight of Lake’s 10 counts and narrowed one of the remaining counts. Evidentiary hearings were held Dec. 21 and 22 on the remaining two counts.
On Dec. 24, Thompson ruled in the defendants’ favor, rejecting the election contest and confirming Hobbs’s victory in the governor’s race.
Lake filed a notice of appeal in the appellate court on Dec. 27. She also requested an expedited review by the Arizona Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court declined to review the matter at that time because the case was still pending before the appellate court.
The briefing in the appellate court is complete; the court has scheduled a conference for Feb. 1.