Republicans on Tuesday sought an emergency court order to prevent polls from closing.
Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters joined the RNC as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Maricopa County.
They asked a judge to keep open voting centers for three extra hours, arguing that issues with voting equipment and erroneous instructions from poll workers prevented people from voting.
At least 30% of polling stations were affected by problems with voting tabulators unable to read formatting markers on ballots. The printed markers were not dark enough for the tabulators to register them correctly, officials said.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Tim Ryan rejected arguments that voters were denied their right to cast ballots, saying there was no evidence that any voter was “precluded from their right to vote.”
His refusal to issue a temporary restraining order to keep polls open will not put an end to the lawsuit, which is scheduled for a hearing in about a week. …
Gates, a Republican lawyer, said he was surprised to see Republicans attempting to keep the polls open, which is something the party has opposed in the past.
He also said the county is prepared for more litigation.
“We certainly know that elections have become more litigious over the last few years,” he said. “I would not be surprised to see lawsuits. If we see those lawsuits, we’re certainly staffed up as a county to address those, to provide the courts with information that they need.”