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Kari Lake Gives 3-Word Response To Calls For Hand Recount in Ariz. Race

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is open to a hand recount after her election loss to Arizona Democrat Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs by around 17,000 votes.

In response to a Twitter user calling for a “full hand recount of all AZ ballots,” Lake replied with three simple words: “Yes. We. Do.”

Newsweek reported: “Lake was responding to a post from Cory McGarr, a conservative member-elect of the Arizona House of Representatives. In his tweet, McGarr pushed for the hand recount and said: ‘If there’s nothing to hide there’s nothing to fear.’ McGarr also tagged Abraham Hamadeh, a Lake ally and former GOP candidate for Arizona attorney general who challenged the results of his own recent election after he lost. A recent recount in that race confirmed that Hamadeh had, in fact, lost to his Democratic opponent Kris Mayes—although by a slimmer margin than the initial tally.”

Last week, Lake filed an appeal after a judge rejected her claims in a lawsuit that sought to overturn her election loss to Hobbs.

In an interview on “The Larry Elder Show” on Epoch TV, Lake said those disputing her election lawsuits have “picked the wrong woman to mess with” and vowed to take her lawsuit “all the way to the Supreme Court” if necessary.

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“Somebody said, ‘Oh, just be graceful, you lost.’ No, we didn’t lose. If I would have lost I would be graceful. And I promised when I ran for governor that I would stand up and fight for the people of Arizona every single day. And I’m still fighting for them because they’re asking me,” Lake said.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I’ve had days where I just go, ‘I’m tired.’ But I can’t walk away. I can’t say to the children, ‘Good luck. I had a great life. I had freedom in America. Good luck and enjoy the communism,’” she added.

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Lake is asking the Arizona Court of Appeals to reconsider all 10 counts of a lawsuit that were tossed by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson.

Lake is also asking the appeals court to overturn the decision for her to pay $33,000 in fees to Hobbs.

Judge Peter Thompson denied a request from Hobbs seeking sanctions against Lake.

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However, the judge did award Hobbs just over $33,000 to cover costs for retaining expert witnesses during a two-day trial brought on by Lake, who challenged the results of November’s gubernatorial election.

“After the litigation, Hobbs filed a request to the court seeking $36,990 in attorneys’ fees and expenses paid during a two-day trial, as well as sanctions against Lake. The court denied Hobbs’ request for sanctions against Lake, saying the claims presented in litigation were not groundless or brought in bad faith. But costs associated with fees of witnesses were covered, for the most part. Hobbs requested reimbursement of $5,900 for an expert who was retained and who testified during the court hearing,” Fox News reported.

“She also filed a separate request for expert witness fees in the amount of $22,451 and an additional $4,689.50 for the reimbursement of a person designated to inspect the ballots. The ballot inspector’s compensation, according to court documents, was charged at a rate of $565 per hour for 8.3 hours. The court agreed to reimburse the $33,040.50 to Hobbs. It also ordered that the amount accrue an annual interest of 7.5% until the money is paid in full,” the report added.

Judge Thompson wrote in his decision: “Every one of Plaintiff’s witnesses — and for that matter, Defendants’ witnesses as well — was asked about any personal knowledge of both intentional misconduct and intentional misconduct directed to impact the 2022 General Election. Every single witness before the Court disclaimed any personal knowledge of such misconduct. The Court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence.”

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Over 200 people submitted statements to the court detailing their frustrating experiences trying to vote on Election Day in Maricopa County. However, Judge Thompson stated that many of those voters were still able to cast their ballots.

“If the ballot definitions (sizes) were changed, it stands to reason that every ballot for that particular definition printed on every machine so affected would be printed incorrectly,” Thompson wrote. “As Plaintiff’s next witness indicates, that was not the case on Election Day. In either event, Mr. Parikh acknowledged that he had no personal knowledge of any intent behind what he believes to be the error.”

Judge Thompson said that Lake’s team did not provide evidence proving voters were turned away or refused ballots on Election Day.

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