Kari Lake Seeks Reform as Ariz. Voting Machines Break (Newsmax)
By Brian Pfail | Tuesday, 08 November 2022 04:38 PM EST
Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake called for election reform on Twitter after voting machines broke Tuesday morning in Maricopa County.
Lake, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is running against Democrat Katie Hobbs, Arizona's Secretary of State. The race has been tight, with Lake leading by 2.4 percentage points, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Since the race is so close, the winner might not be named until days after the election. With every vote being vital to each candidate, the breaking of machines stirs fear among voters already questioning the election process.
Lake has been adamant about the importance of election integrity. She accused Maricopa County of accepting 2,000 mail-in ballots after Election Day in 2020. The county was then subject to an audit.
"I am getting flooded with calls and text messages from people who are having trouble voting all over Maricopa County," tweeted Lake on Tuesday, sharing a video posted by Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk. "THIS is why we must reform our elections."
The video showed a Maricopa County poll worker telling voters to wait due to the malfunctioning of voting machines. The poll worker said one machine was not working and the other was misreading 25% of the votes, rejecting others.
Poll workers assured voters that the ballots would be recorded elsewhere.
In May, Lake tweeted favorably to House Bill 2289, called the "One Day, One Vote Bill."
The bill would require voter ID, hand-counted paper ballots, smaller precinct poll sites and the elimination of mail-in and absentee ballots.
"Imagine Arizona elections with: One DAY Voting, done on paper, in person, with No Machines, No Mail-Ins. And an immediate way of establishing a chain of custody," Lake wrote on Twitter. "#HB2289 does that. That's why it's worthy of serious consideration for @AZSenateGOP."