TL/DR –
Republican candidates Kari Lake and Mark Finchem have taken their case against the use of electronic voting machines to the U.S. Supreme Court, after being rejected twice by federal judges. They allege that the machines are hackable and not properly tested, but their arguments have previously been dismissed due to a lack of evidence. The appeal was filed the day before Lake, who is running for U.S. Senate, submitted over 10,000 signatures to qualify for the August primary ballot.
US Senate Candidate Kari Lake, Mark Finchem Bring Electronic Voting Machine Case to Supreme Court
Republican candidates Kari Lake and Mark Finchem have escalated their case against electronic voting machines to the U.S. Supreme Court after two federal judges rejected their efforts. Representing Lake, a U.S. Senate candidate, and state Senate aspirant Finchem, their lawyers filed a 210-page petition with the Supreme Court. They argue that electronic voting machines, which they claim are hackable and inadequately tested, should not be used.
These claims were first made by the duo during the 2022 elections when Lake was running for Arizona governor and Finchem for secretary of state. Both claims were dismissed due to lack of evidence. Dominion Voting Systems, the manufacturer of the machines, won a significant defamation settlement against Fox News last year over similar false allegations.
Despite their defeats to Democrats Katie Hobbs and Adrian Fontes respectively, Lake and Finchem continue to argue for a “do-over”. The appeal suggests that the court could mandate a “do-over” remedy such as counting paper ballots.
Lake, a former TV news anchor, filed the appeal a day before submitting over 10,000 signatures to qualify for the August primary ballot. “I told the people of Arizona after that election that I would do everything I can to fight for their sacred vote, and this is just another step in that process,” she stated.
Lake and Finchem’s Appeal May Alienate General Election Voters
The appeal appears to appeal to Lake and Finchem’s loyal GOP supporters. However, it may alienate general election voters. Democratic operatives seized on this opportunity to link Lake to the election doubt that likely cost her the governor’s race. Hannah Goss, spokesperson for Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego’s campaign for Senate, described Lake as an “election denier”.
The Supreme Court’s responses to the appeal are due on April 17. Finchem said he would “patiently await acceptance by the court” of the appeal.
Supreme Court Acceptance Not Guaranteed
Lake and Finchem have asked the Supreme Court to consider their case, which prior judges have dismissed as based on “conjectural” claims and hypotheticals. The Supreme Court, which chooses which cases to take up, usually hears approximately 1% of the appeals filed.
Stefanie Lindquist, a law and political science professor at Arizona State University, expressed skepticism that the case would be heard. To file a case, a candidate or voter must demonstrate that they were personally harmed by the defendant’s actions.
Lake and Finchem Previously Rejected by Appellate Court
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted in an October ruling that Finchem and Lake’s allegations did not support the idea that future elections could be compromised due to electronic ballot-tabulation machines. The court dismissed the case and affirmed the prior ruling of U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi.
Tuchi ordered Lake’s and Finchem’s lawyers to pay a $122,200 sanction for the baseless case.
Lake and Finchem initially filed the lawsuit in April 2022, alleging that ballot tabulation machines were untrustworthy. Their lawsuit echoed conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems put forward by former President Donald Trump after his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. Dominion reached a large settlement with Fox News over these claims.
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