Two Republican candidates for statewide office in Arizona have filed a lawsuit to prevent the use of ballot-counting machines in the state’s upcoming election, the Arizona Daily Star reports.
Attorney Andrew Parker filed the suit on behalf of gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and secretary of state hopeful Mark Finchem. The lawsuit argues that the tabulation of votes is the job of the government, and said that Arizona cannot use technology that is built and programmed by private companies.
"This lack of transparency by electronic voting machine companies has created a 'black box' system of voting which lacks credibility and integrity," Parker wrote in the lawsuit, according to the Daily Star.
Parker goes on to claim that "irregularities and evidence of illegal vote manipulations" occurred during the 2020 election and includes some claims made by the Cyber Ninjas review of the election process in Maricopa County, though these findings were disputed by county officials, who said that Cyber Ninjas did not understand election laws, procedures, or technology.
Parker said in the suit that this is not an attempt to overturn President Joe Biden's victory in the state during the 2020 election.
"It is only about the future — about upcoming elections that will employ voting machines designed and run by private companies, performing a crucial governmental function, that refuse to disclose their software and system components and subject them to neutral expert evaluation," he wrote. "It raises the profound constitutional issue: Can government avoid its obligation of democratic transparency and accountability by delegating a critical government function to private companies?"
Both Lake and Finchem declined to be interviewed by the Arizona Daily Star about the lawsuit.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.