PHOENIX — The top two Republicans who lost their races for state office last month are making a new legal bid in their separate effort to outlaw the use of machines to tabulate votes in Arizona.
In a 67-page filing with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Kari Lake, who ran for governor, and Mark Finchem, who was defeated in his bid for secretary of state, essentially reiterate the claims they made before a trial judge “that electronic voting systems are subject to intrusion and manipulation and cannot be relied upon to secure, correct vote tallies in public elections.” Attorneys for the pair cited various reports about how others have shown the machines can be hacked and totals altered.
But the essence of their plea to the appellate panel is that U.S. District Court Judge John Tuchi never gave them a chance to make their case. Instead, he dismissed their claims, saying they were little more than speculation on their part, backed not by evidence of actual problems in Arizona but instead “vague’’ allegations about electronic voting systems generally.
