Arizona judge dismissed Kari Lake's latest election challenge on May 22 | Fact check
The claim: Arizona judge was forced to overturn election, throw out 274,000 ballots
A May 20 Rumble video (direct link, archive link) shows an episode of conservative radio host Pete Santilli's show.
"ARIZONA JUDGE FORCED TO OVERTURN ELECTION: 274,000 BALLOTS MUST BE THROWN OUT," reads the video's caption.
The post was shared 30 times on Facebook. A similar post was shared on Facebook more than 5,000 times before it was deleted. Similar posts have spread elsewhere on Facebook and GETTR.
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Our rating: False
This didn't happen. The video was posted two days before a judge ruled on former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s latest election case alleging Maricopa County failed to properly verify voters’ signatures during the 2022 midterms. The judge concluded there was no clear or convincing evidence of misconduct and that the county complied with state law. The election wasn't overturned and no ballots were thrown out.
Arizona judge dismissed Lake's latest election challenge May 22
Lake, a Republican, lost to Democratic challenger Katie Hobbs in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race by about 17,000 votes. Shortly after, Lake filed a 70-page lawsuit alleging Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous county, mishandled the signature verification process and that improper ballots were counted during the midterms.
That case was dismissed in December.
After unsuccessfully appealing her lawsuit in February, Lake asked the Arizona Supreme Court to consider her election challenge. The court ordered in March that a county judge must review Lake's claim that Maricopa County did not follow proper signature verification procedures for a second time, according to The Arizona Republic.
But the video in question was shared two days before the county judge ruled in Lake’s case, and provides no evidence the judge was forced to overturn the election or throw out 274,000 ballots. And the judge ultimately ruled against Lake.
Fact check: False claim that Kari Lake's lawsuit shows Arizona used 'no signature verification'
The case centers on an Arizona law that says election officers must compare the signature on a mail-in-ballot envelope with the one in the voter's registration record and determine if they match. If there are inconsistencies, the elections office must give voters a chance to correct the discrepancy – a process known as curing.
During a three-day trial in May, Lake’s legal team argued Maricopa County election workers compared signatures on ballot envelopes with those on voter files so fast that it “could not meet the legal standard for comparison,” The Arizona Republic reported.
The lawyers also claimed during the trial that 274,000 signatures were compared in three seconds or less and 70,000 signatures were compared in two seconds or less, basing their numbers off a signature verification expert who analyzed data provided by Maricopa County, according to The Arizona Republic.
However, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, who oversaw the case, concluded the expert’s analysis was not relevant to the law since “there is no statutory or regulatory requirement that a specific amount of time be applied to review any given signature at any level of review.”
Thompson ruled there was no “clear or convincing evidence” of misconduct in Maricopa County that would have affected the results of the 2022 election and upheld Hobbs as the winner.
After the case was dismissed, Maricopa County lawyers asked a judge to issue sanctions against Lake and her team for claims that the 2022 election was “rigged,” according to The Arizona Republic.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact also debunked this claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Arizona Secretary of State, accessed May 26, 2022 General Election Canvass
USA TODAY, Jan. 5, Fact check: False claim that Kari Lake's lawsuit shows Arizona used 'no signature verification'
Arizona Mirror, Feb. 16, Kari Lake loses election challenge appeal
The Arizona Republic, March 22, Arizona Supreme Court rejects most of Kari Lake's election challenge
The Arizona Republic, May 22, Judge rules against Kari Lake, affirms Hobbs as AZ governor in election signature verification trial
The Arizona Republic, May 19, In closing arguments of Kari Lake's signature verification trial, attorneys focus on trust in elections
The Arizona Republic, May 24, 'Heinous and profoundly harmful': Maricopa County seeks sanctions against Lake, attorneys
Arizona State Legislature, accessed May 26, 16-550. Receipt of voter's ballot; cure period
Superior Court of Arizona Maricopa County, May 22, Judge's ruling
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Attempt to overturn Arizona governor's race failed | Fact check
