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On Wednesday, attorneys representing State Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Ariz., and Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block the use of electronic voting machines in the Grand Canyon State ahead of the rapidly approaching August primary.
According to a news release from the Arizona House of Representatives, Finchem, who is also a Trump-endorsed GOP candidate for secretary of state, issued the following statement:
“We have filed a motion seeking to ban the use of black box electronic voting machines in Arizona’s elections while the case is pending.
It’s a reasonable question to ask the defendants whether they know how these electronic machines actually work. They are a BLACK BOX – and the voting machine companies REFUSE to make their systems and software open to the public. WHY WOULD ANYONE TRUST THEM?”
The motion to file a preliminary injunction to suspend the use of voting machines while the case is pending comes on the heels of a joint filing from Finchem and GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake that moved to kickstart an injunction in April to get rid of the voting machines in Arizona.
Finchem’s statement also alleges that the voting machines currently in use have “documented and unfixable security failures in electronic voting machines – and the lack of transparency in these voting systems – violates citizens’ constitutional rights…”
The defendants in the pending case include Lake’s Democrat gubernatorial opponent, Katie Hobbs, and the Board of Supervisors for both Pima and Maricopa Counties – two large counties in Arizona that have garnered national attention for reports of rampant election irregularities during the 2020 presidential election.
Additionally, the Yuma County Sherriff’s Office announced in May that they would be working with the Yuma County Recorder’s Office to examine 16 active cases of voter fraud regarding the 2020 election.
“This is a step in the right direction,” Lake commented on Twitter regarding the investigation.
On Tuesday, the defendants in Finchem’s and Lake’s case filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, but Finchem’s statement fired back: “WRONG. We are not stuck with these machines. Defendants claim that Arizona’s spot checks prevent fraud. WRONG. Procedures like 2% spot checks do no prevent fraud.”
He added, “The same people that want to keep these machines are just like the people who oppose voter ID.”