The Supreme Court recently rejected a lawsuit brought forth by Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake, questioning the use of electronic voting machines in Arizona. Lake, who initiated the lawsuit during her gubernatorial campaign in 2022, raised concerns about the fairness and accuracy of the state's electronic voting systems.
However, both lower courts that reviewed the case dismissed it, ruling that Lake and former Republican state lawmaker Mark Finchem lacked the necessary grounds to file a lawsuit as they had not suffered any tangible harm. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals also noted that the specifics of Lake's claim were unclear and appeared to be based on speculative fears of potential hacking of the voting machines.
Despite referencing opinions from supposed experts on the risks of manipulation in their lawsuit, Lake and Finchem did not provide evidence of any past instances of hacking of electronic tabulation machines in Arizona. Their arguments were centered on hypothetical future threats rather than actual incidents of harm.
The Supreme Court's decision to dismiss the appeal without comment is a standard practice. The defendants in the case, including the Arizona Secretary of State and the boards of supervisors of Maricopa and Pima Counties, opted not to respond to the appeal, indicating their belief that the lawsuit lacked merit.
Lake criticized the Supreme Court for what she termed as 'institutional inertia' on election-related matters, referencing the court's involvement in the Bush v. Gore case during the 2000 election. Despite her discontent, the court's current docket includes several appeals related to former President Donald Trump, the anticipated GOP presidential nominee.