Fontes asking for investigation into Lake’s tweets sharing voter signatures

Lake posted side-by-side photos comparing the signatures, alleging nearly 40,000 ballots were counted with signatures that didn’t match.
Published: Jan. 30, 2023 at 7:27 PM MST|Updated: Jan. 31, 2023 at 5:23 PM MST
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PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is asking Attorney General Kris Mayes to take action against Kari Lake after she posted photos of voters’ signatures on Twitter. Under Arizona law, records containing a voter’s signature shouldn’t be accessible or shared by any person other than the voter. Fontes claims Lake broke this law and could face a felony charge by posting pictures of 16 voter signatures on her Twitter.

In Lake’s tweet, she posts side-by-side photos comparing and contrasting the signatures, alleging nearly 40,000 ballots were counted with signatures that didn’t match up. Fontes says this isn’t allowed, citing Arizona Statue 16-168 (F), which reads, “under no circumstance may a person other than the voter or any statutorily authorized person reproduce a voter’s signature. A violation of this provision is a Class 6 felony.” Mayes’ office confirmed they received the letter.

So far, the Attorney General’s office has only confirmed it’s received Secretary of State Fontes’s request. Tom Ryan, Democratic attorney, said, “Although the Senate hearing is a public hearing, they’re not supposed to be showing this either. We have a right to vote in secret and have that information kept confidential,” he said.

According to state law, wrongfully publishing the signature of a voter is a class 6 felony and carries the weight of potential jail time. The Secretary of State’s office said it’s all up to Attorney General Mayes now.