Judge orders 2-day trial in Kari Lake’s lawsuit, but dismisses some claims

A judge declined Monday to dismiss Kari Lake's election challenge after oral arguments by attorneys, giving her a chance to try to prove her claims of misconduct by election officials.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson tossed eight of the claims in Lake's lawsuit, but allowed two to remain that alleged an intentional plot by officials to manipulate the election in favor of Lake's Democratic opponent, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. In two separate orders, he ruled that a two-day trial will take place before Jan. 2, and that Hobbs and County Recorder Stephen Richer would be required to testify as Lake wished.

Lake has "alleged intentional misconduct sufficient to affect the outcome of the election and thus has stated an issue of fact that requires going beyond the pleadings," the ruling stated. It continued that Lake must show at trial that the county's printer malfunctions were intentionally rigged to affect the election results, and that the actions "did actually affect the outcome."