One count in Kari Lake's Arizona 2022 gubernatorial election lawsuit will be heard in Maricopa County on Wednesday, the state's Supreme Court ruled Monday.
"Huge: Following Supreme Court Ruling, Maricopa County Judge grants Kari Lake the opportunity to expose election fraud in court," Lake posted on Twitter on Monday.
Lake, a Republican, filed a lawsuit following her 2022 gubernatorial loss to Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs by about 17,000 votes, alleging election misconduct.
Of the seven counts claimed in the lawsuit, six were dismissed, but one was upheld Monday by Maricopa Superior Court Judge Peter A. Thompson, allowing the case to move forward and be heard Wednesday, Phoenix television station CBS 5 reported.
The issue moving forward deals with the signature verification process and alleges the county accepted "thousands" of ballots that poll workers rejected due to having "mismatched signatures."
According to the report, Lake is alleging as many as 164,000 illegal votes were counted, an estimated 15%-40% of ballots that signature verification workers said they rejected for mismatched signatures.
Thompson ruled there is enough evidence for the case to be heard at trial, the report said.
Lawyers for Hobbs maintain Lake failed to show specific mail-in ballots were illegally counted, and the "speculation" of the signature verification workers does not prove a violation of law or election misconduct.
"For three years, our signature verification process has been questioned and for three years we have presented evidence in court — and to voters — that showed it is thorough, legal, and always subject to bipartisan oversight," Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chair Clint Hickman said in a statement to the news outlet following Monday's ruling. "Judge Thompson has now ordered a short trial that gives Kari Lake an opportunity to provide clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
"I look forward to once again showing our work. We have nothing to hide. We are proud of our team, proud of our processes, and confident we will prevail in a courtroom where the facts matter above all else."
According to the court documents, Hobbs tried to argue that because she has been installed in the office of governor for several months, the litigation comes too late.
Thompson, however, said in his ruling state law did not place time restraints for the issue to be heard in court, if warranted.
The voter verification count is just 1 of 7 claims Lake's legal team made regarding the election; the other six allegations were dismissed.
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