Judge tosses Lake, Finchem lawsuit to stop use of voting machines

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — A U.S. district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to ban the use of electronic voting machines in Arizona during the upcoming midterm elections.

In early June, a motion was filed seeking an injunction to keep the state from using “unsecure black box electronic voting machines.” That complaint was filed by Kari Lake, the GOP nominee for governor, and Rep. Mark Finchem, the GOP’s secretary of state nominee. They claim there was massive voter fraud in the 2020 election, and both Republicans have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Multiple audits and investigations since 2020, however, have determined there was no widespread voter fraud.

Even so, Lake and Finchem claimed in the suit that electronic voting “created unjustified new risks of hacking, election tampering, and electronic voting fraud” and that “without objective validation,” the machines violate the voting rights of all Arizonans. They believe every vote should be counted by hand, which would take roughly 93 days, according to Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, who also heads up election operations for the county.

On Friday, Judge John J. Tuchi dismissed the lawsuit, saying that while the right to vote should be protected, Lake and Finchem “lack standing” and presented only “conjectural allegations.” The judge also referenced the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bars individuals from filing lawsuits against states in federal court.

See the 21-page order in its entirety below:

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