Maricopa County and Arizona Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs have filed for sanctions against former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake for attempts to utilize the courts to overturn the 2022 election results.

On Saturday, Lake lost her lawsuit alleging misconduct by election officials due to a lack of convincing evidence. Lake had filed 10 misconduct claims surrounding ballot printers and election officials, two of which were allowed to go to trial last week.

The Donald Trump-endorsed candidate said in a tweet the same day that she would appeal the decision. Lake has refused to concede since the election, which was called for Hobbs on Nov. 15. Hobbs won the election by over 17,000 votes.

Lake has attempted to reverse the election results through the judicial system.

Hobbs, who has served as the state's secretary of state for four years, joined the county's motion through that position and as governor-elect. The motion claims that Lake filed a "groundless" lawsuit which constitutes harassment and that the attorneys involved in the case had knowledge that the case lacked sufficient evidence.

The filing by Hobbs and Arizona's most populous county seeks $25,050 from Lake. It includes legal fees accrued by the plaintiffs from Lake's 70-page lawsuit.

"Courts are established by Arizona's Constitution and statutes to resolve actual disputes between parties," the motion states.

"They do not exist so that candidates for political office can attempt to make political statements and fundraise. And they should not be used to harass political opponents and sow completely unfounded doubts about the integrity of elections. All of those things happened in this matter."

Lake's lawyers filed a response on Monday, asking the court to deny the sanctioning request claiming that it has "no basis in law or fact."

"Trust in the election process is not furthered by punishing those who bring legitimate claims as plaintiff did here," attorneys for Lake claimed in the court filing. "In fact, sanctioning plaintiff would have the opposite effect."

The county claims that Lake's lawsuit was "brought without any legitimate justification, let alone a substantial one."

Arizona