Arizona's final county has officially certified the results of the 2022 midterm elections.
On Thursday, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors certified the election results after a state judge ruled it was unlawful for two GOP supervisors not to certify the results by the state's legal deadline.
The board voted 2-0 to certify the results with one board member not attending Thursday's emergency meeting. The vote allows Arizona to proceed with next Monday's statewide certification.
Arizona Governor-elect Katie Hobbs sued Cochise County earlier this week after two Republican supervisors, Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby, refused to certify the results. Hobbs' lawsuit stated the two officials refused to certify the results due to a baseless conspiracy theory about the certification of voting machines.
Also on Thursday, U.S. District Judge John Tuchi granted Maricopa County's request to sanction Kari Lake, Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem and their lawyers for “false, misleading and unsupported factual assertions” in the lawsuit, meaning they will have to pay court costs incurred by Maricopa County.
Forbes has more on Tuchi's ruling:
Tuchi cites insufficient evidence supporting any of Lake's claims, adding the plaintiffs—members of Lake's election staff in addition to Lake herself—”have voted on paper ballots, contradicting allegations and representations” of statements made by Lake.
A key passage from his ruling noted:
“Imposing sanctions in this case is not to ignore the importance of putting in place procedures to ensure that our elections are secure and reliable,” Tuchi said. “It is to make clear that the court will not condone litigants ignoring the steps that Arizona has already taken toward this end and furthering false narratives that baselessly undermine public trust at a time of increasing disinformation about, and distrust in, the democratic process.”
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Lake has remained adamant in her refusal to concede to Katie Hobbs, who won Arizona's gubernatorial election by 0.6% of the vote, according to the Associated Press. Trump joined in on Lake's unfounded claims on Truth Social alleging ballot tabulator issues skewed results in Hobb's favor and accused election officials of running a “criminal voting operation.” State Attorney General Mark Brnovich has since called on the county to produce a report on its voting machines after his office received complaints about the election process.
Maricopa Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates (R) issued the following statement following Judge Tuchi's ruling:
As a former Election Day lawyer for the Arizona Republican Party, I have deep respect for the election contest process because it allows campaigns a venue for legitimate grievances by distinguishing truth from conjecture.
Unfortunately, we've seen too many examples in recent years of attorneys trying to weaponize the court for political purposes, in particular, to undermine free and fair elections. It is wrong, it is unethical, and these attorneys must be held accountable if we are to protect our democratic republic.
Today's sanctions against the lawyers who brought the frivolous Lake v. Hobbs case are a win for the rule of law. Although rarely imposed, Rule 11 sanctions serve as a consequence for those who file baseless and meritless lawsuits.
A judge already dismissed the lawsuit, but Maricopa County asked for sanctions because these claims are demonstrably false.
Today, Judge Tuchi ruled 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.”
It's unclear how much Lake and others will have to pay. Maricopa County election officials have two weeks to list all court costs from the Lake-led suit.
Earlier this week, Maricopa County Superior Judge Randall Warner tossed out another lawsuit brought by Arizona attorney general candidate Abraham Hamadeh and the Republican National Committee (RNC) that sought to challenge the state's election results.
As American Liberty News previously reported:
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner rejected the lawsuit on Wednesday, arguing the lawsuit was filed prematurely, ruling that the parties can not file a lawsuit until the results are certified, according to The Washington Examiner.
“Under these statutes there can be no election contest until after the canvass and declaration of results because, until then, no one is ‘declared elected,'” Warner wrote in his ruling. “It is undisputed that the canvass and declaration of results for the November 2022 election have not occurred.”
Hamadeh does not need to wait until the recount is complete before filing his lawsuit, Warner noted in his ruling. However, he must wait until the statewide certification is official before he can mount a challenge to the election results. Hamadeh has indicated he will refile the lawsuit after the statewide certification is complete.
The Arizona attorney general race is set to go under a recount once the state canvass is complete but one rural county is threatening to derail the process.
This story is developing. Stay with American Liberty News for the latest updates.
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