‘I Hope It’s Not Malice’: Kari Lake Suggests Partisan Interference May Be Behind Maricopa Tabulator Problems

Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake seemed to imply that the tabulator problems that have cropped up at voting locations across Maricopa County might be the result of partisan interference while speaking to reporters outside of a polling place.

Chairman of the Maricopa County board of supervisors Bill Gates announced a few hours into Election Day that 20 percent of polling places in the county were experiencing problems with their tabulation machines.

The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office issued an update Tuesday afternoon noting that they have “identified a solution for the tabulation issues at our Vote Centers.”

“County technicians have changed the printer settings, which seems to have resolved this issue. It appears some of the printers were not producing dark enough timing marks on the ballots,” the office announced.

Speaking to reporters after casting her own ballot and before the update was issued, Lake said the malfunctions represent a failure of Arizona’s election system, which her opponent Katie Hobbs is responsible for overseeing as secretary of state.

Voters have personally expressed to her their concerns with the disruption in ballot protocol, she said.

“I woke up this morning and within minutes of the polls opening up I started getting people calling. Voters in tears, calling my personal numbers, saying ‘What’s going on? The tabulators aren’t working. They told me to put my ballot in a box and they would drive it downtown to county,'” she said.

She implied there could be partisan interference behind the issues. “Do you think this is normal guys? My question is, do you think what’s happening here in Maricopa County is normal? We have had problems after problems,” Lake added.

The upstart Republican slammed her Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs, who’s been managing state elections this midterm cycle while running for governor.

“I think she should have recused herself. She’s unethical, she’s incompetent,” Lake said. “We’ve been asking her to do that since July of last year. She hasn’t done so.”

Lake said her team cast ballots in the Democratic enclave of Phoenix on Tuesday. Unlike parts of Maricopa, which are pretty red, the liberal areas have had “had zero problems with their machines today,” she said.

“Not one machine spit out a ballot here today,” she noted. Lake promised a reckoning for election integrity in the state if she is victorious on Tuesday.

“I hope it’s not malice. But we’re gonna win. And when we win, there’s gonna be a come to Jesus for elections in Arizona,” she declared.

On the campaign trail, Lake embraced former president Trump’s false allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Lake won the endorsement of former president Donald Trump, while her primary opponent, establishment-backed Karrin Taylor Robson was endorsed by former vice president Mike Pence and the current Arizona governor, Doug Ducey.

Ahead of her primary win, Lake insinuated fraud could jeopardize her own election, saying, “We’re already detecting some fraud, I know none of you are shocked.”

After she beat Robson and secured he nomination she said, “We outvoted the fraud.”

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