U.S. Supreme Court Rejects GOP Candidate’s Request to Ban Electronic Vote-Counting Machines in Arizona

The U.S. Supreme Court has made a decision regarding a request made by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake to ban the use of electronic vote-counting machines in Arizona. The request was declined, marking the end of the road for this particular effort.

Lake, along with former Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem, filed a lawsuit two years ago based on unfounded allegations about the security of vote-counting machines in Arizona. They relied on testimony from Donald Trump supporters who led a discredited review of the election in Maricopa County. Despite their efforts, U.S. District Judge John Tuchi ruled that Lake and Finchem lacked standing to sue as they failed to show any realistic likelihood of harm.

Both Lake and Finchem had made baseless election fraud claims a central part of their campaigns when they ran for governor and secretary of state, respectively, in 2022. However, they both lost to Democrats and challenged the outcomes in court.

The decision by the Supreme Court not to take the vote-counting case means that hand counts of ballots will not be required. Lake, who is now the GOP front-runner for the U.S. Senate in Arizona, has faced other legal challenges as well. She declined to defend herself in a defamation lawsuit brought against her by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, whom she accused of rigging the 2022 gubernatorial election against her.

Overall, the Supreme Court’s decision in this case has significant implications for the ongoing debate surrounding election integrity and the use of electronic voting machines.