An Arizona judge rejected Kari Lake's request to examine signed ballot envelopes of 1.3 million early voters, handing the defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate another loss in her third lawsuit related to last year's election in the state. In an order filed Thursday, according to The Associated Press, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah Jr. argued the ballots' release would undercut their verification process in the future. “The broad right of electoral participation outweighs the narrow interests of those who would continue to pick at the machinery of democracy,” Hannah wrote.
Lake's attorney, Bryan Blehm, did not immediately respond to the outlet's requests for comment. Lake has yet to comment directly herself but has been retweeting supportive posts on X, formerly Twitter. Most of the two-day bench trial was spent hearing testimony from Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, who is named as a defendant. Richer explained that Lake's initial requests to view the envelopes were denied because state law requires ballot envelope signatures to stay confidential. Blehm countered that there are other documents with people's signatures that are publicly available.
In the ruling, the judge compared Lake's efforts to see the signed envelopes to villagers wanting to inspect a goose that lays golden eggs, “except that her goose failed to lay the egg she expected.” Hannah continued, "If only she could cut open the electoral process and examine each of its 1.3 million pieces, she says, she would be able to figure out what happened and show that the prize has been there waiting for her all along. Even if she doesn’t find what she’s looking for ... the act of disassembly will strengthen everyone’s confidence that the machinery produces reliable outcomes.”
