Judge Issues Ruling on Kari Lake Request to Examine 2022 Ballots

An Arizona judge rejected Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s request to view signed ballots of about 1.3 million early voters in the state. In a ruling on Nov. 30, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah denied Ms. Lake, who had ran for governor during the 2022 midterms, from gaining access to the ballot envelopes in connection to last year’s elections. He argued that releasing the ballot envelopes and signatures would imperil the verification process for future Arizona elections. “The broad right of electoral participation outweighs the narrow interests of those who would continue to pick at the machinery of democracy,” the judge wrote, adding that the release of the envelopes would “create a significant risk of widespread voter fraud where none now exists.”...