Katie Hobbs Uses Her Elected Position to Try to Force GOP County to Certify Election Results
A candidate in a hotly disputed race for governor is using her current job to cut short one county’s protest against the election.
That’s the latest from Arizona, where Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs, the current secretary of state, is suing an Arizona county that refused to certify the results of this year’s election.
Media outlets have declared Hobbs the winner over Republican Kari Lake.
“Cochise County had a statutory duty to certify the results of the 2022 General Election by today. My office has filed a lawsuit to ensure all voters have their votes [count],” Hobbs tweeted Monday.
Lake’s War Room Twitter account took exception to the tactic. Lake has refused to concede the election.
“This is an egregious abuse of power but when has that ever stopped you before?” the account posted.
This is an egregious abuse of power but when has that ever stopped you before?
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) November 29, 2022
Another tweet from Lake’s War Room account said Hobbs “presided over an illegitimate election & crowned herself as winner. Now she is trying to strong arm Arizona counties into holding a coronation for her. This is an incredibly dangerous precedent she’s setting. These abuses of power will not stop as Governor.”
.@katiehobbs presided over an illegitimate election & crowned herself as winner.
Now she is trying to strong arm Arizona counties into holding a coronation for her.
This is an incredibly dangerous precedent she’s setting.
These abuses of power will not stop as Governor. https://t.co/N6b5fjknyr
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) November 29, 2022
Lake had called upon Hobbs, whose duties as secretary of state include the oversight of elections, to recuse herself from oversight of this year’s contest to avoid the spectacle of a conflict of interest. Hobbs was elected to her post in 2018.
On Monday, Cochise County‘s Board of Supervisors rejected certifying the approximately 47,000 ballots cast in the Nov. 8 election.
The board said then it would revisit the decision on Friday.
Prior to the election, the board had voted to conduct a full hand count audit of the ballots over concerns about the accuracy and security of tabulation machines. Hobbs threatened a lawsuit if that was done.
The lawsuit claims Hobbs is acting in the best interests of the voters.
“Absent this Court’s intervention, the Secretary will have no choice but to complete the statewide canvass by December 8 without Cochise County’s votes included. Thus, the Board’s inaction not only violates the plain language of the statute, but also undermines a basic tenet of free and fair elections in the state: ensuring that every Arizonan’s voice is heard,” the lawsuit said.
What’s the point of certification if it’s forced? https://t.co/Y4ei2eELYd
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) November 29, 2022
A report by KPHO-TV said that there could be ramifications beyond the race for governor, reporting that without the county’s votes, races for a U.S. House seat and state schools chief could flip from Republican to Democrat.
The lawsuit wants the certification completed by Thursday, saying disobedience to the demand would “sow further confusion and doubt about the integrity of Arizona’s election system.”
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