A top staffer for Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, is backing Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican.
Fontes’ state elections director Lisa Marra praised Richer for his performance the past four years and encouraged people to vote for him.
“Maricopa County voters, including myself, are lucky to have Recorder Richer,” said Marra. “He’s responsible for so much more than just voter rolls. We need people like him in public office.”
Maricopa County voters, including myself, are lucky to have Recorder Richer. He's responsible for so much more than just voter rolls. We need people like him in public office. https://t.co/QvWna1SFDR
Richer has faced widespread criticisms from within his own party over voter grievances with his view of the 2020 election’s validity and his administration of the 2022 election.
Aggrieved voters have made themselves a regular presence at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meetings. In September, voters made headlines for accusing the board and Richer of “deep state” affiliations.
Earlier this year, AZ Free News reported that he used his staff to compile news of his personal defamation lawsuit against Senate candidate and former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
Part of the grievance with Richer had to do with the political action committee he established to beat GOP candidates supportive of the claim that the 2020 election was stolen. The PAC — Pro-Democracy Republicans of Arizona — was seen as an overt attempt to influence elections, and prompted lawmakers to introduce legislation to ban similar PAC building.
Richer’s PAC has raised over $88,500 since its inception in 2021 and spent about $83,000. In the summer of 2022, the PAC gave $45,000 to Defending Arizona Values, and $10,000 to Awareness Analytics.
Since last year, Richer’s PAC has paid him just over $8,000 for operating expenses, or just about $14,600 since the PAC’s inception.
Ahead of the 2022 election, Richer also advised the Department of Homeland Security on tactics to moderate free speech. A controversial right-wing outlet, the Gateway Pundit, successfully sued Maricopa County over its denial of press passes under Richer.
Marra apparently may relate: she faced similar revile as Richer during her stint as Cochise County Elections Director, a role she quit early last year.
Marra testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee that she had received threats during her tenure over elections administration, a claim later discovered to not have any backing according to the Cochise County Attorney’s Office.
It was Marra who resisted the county’s efforts to conduct an expanded hand count audit during the 2022 election, citing since-scrutinized legal advice from the county attorney’s office.
That same attorney, Brian McIntyre, remains under investigation by the State Bar for violating the county supervisors’ attorney-client privilege by allegedly colluding with Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
McIntyre announced last month that he wouldn’t run for county attorney again, citing his inability to collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
For her troubles while working in Cochise County, Marra received a settlement of $130,000 due to an alleged toxic work environment.
Richer’s primary opponent, State Rep. Justin Heap, has capitalized on the public discontent with Richer to advance his campaign.
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Election integrity measures haven’t been a source of unity for all Arizona Republicans over the past two years, but one bill just introduced by a state senator may have brought the party somewhat closer together on one aspect of reform.
The one-page bill, SB 1471, was recently introduced by Senator John Kavanagh, dealing with ballot tabulation and hand count comparison. According to the legislation, which would only apply to Arizona counties with a population of more than two million persons, “the officer in charge of elections in (these counties) shall randomly select four election precincts in the county from the ballot test decks used for logic and accuracy testing for the 2022 general election and shall recount all races using one hundred of those ballots from each precinct.” There would be a hand count of these ballots that would coincide with the machine count.
The legislation requires a county recorder to “compare the tabulator total and the hand count,” and take additional steps to recheck the counts should there be a “difference in the totals that is greater than one-tenth of one percent.” The county recorder would then “estimate how many persons working sixteen hours a day would be required to hand county the entire number of ballots cast in the November 2022 election.” After the conclusion of this process, the county recorder would transmit the report to the governor, president of the Arizona Senate, and the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer released a statement this week that appeared to be in support of the legislation, saying, “Smart legislation is key to improving Arizona’s elections and voters’ trust. …This legislation will build confidence in our election system by showing that machine tabulation is highly accurate, free of bias and fast. Thanks to Senator Kavanagh for this good idea.”
It remains to be seen if Republicans at the Legislature will be appreciative of Recorder Richer’s statement on SB 1471. Maricopa County officials and members of the Arizona Legislature have not always seen eye-to-eye over election integrity since the 2020 presidential contest, and there are often competing interests or motivations even in a perceived daylight of agreement between two opposing factions. Some legislative Republicans may see this bill as an opportunity to validate hand counts, while other Republicans may view this legislation as an endorsement of machine counting.
This bill has not been assigned to a committee, nor does it have any cosponsors at the time of publication.
Should this legislation pass the Arizona Senate and House, it remains to be seen whether it would be signed into law by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs, who has promised to use her veto stamp on bills she believes are partisan in nature.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: to those who want to work together to address Arizona's biggest challenges, my door is always open.
To those who would rather stick with their partisan agendas, my veto pen is ready.https://t.co/tC4Or9uRmb
Every voter should be required to provide identification before casting a ballot. It’s the bedrock of secure elections and ensures it is both easy to vote and hard to cheat. But in Arizona, some in-person voters can present two non-photo documents in place of a photo ID, and for the millions of Arizonans who choose the convenience of voting by mail, only a signature is required.
The fact is we currently treat different types of voters disparately—not all voters are showing ID. That’s why Prop 309 is critical. It creates universal voter ID requirements so that valid ID is required no matter when, where, or how we vote, meaning all voters will be treated equally and all will show ID. Plus, Prop 309 waives the fee for a state issued photo ID.
If that sounds like a no-brainer, that’s because it is.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer plans on voting to reelect President Joe Biden this November, despite identifying publicly as a Republican and having voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020.
Richer clarified his voting intentions during an interview with AZ Family after the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission (ACCEC) debate earlier this month.
“I voted for President Trump in 2020. And who am I planning on voting for [in November]? President Biden,” said Richer.
The current Maricopa County Recorder is a Republican who admitted yesterday that he is going to vote for Joe Biden in the 2024 Presidential Election 🚫
It is time to replace the current Recorder in the upcoming Republican Primary in July!
— Az State Rep. Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) June 25, 2024
Despite pledging to vote for Biden, Richer has remained critical of the president. On Friday, the recorder reposted a remark from Elon Musk mocking the Democratic Party for its declaration that Biden won the first presidential debate on Thursday. He also reposted an article from The Bulwark advocating for Biden to drop out of the race.
Richer’s voting choices haven’t been the only source of contention for his constituents and Arizonans in recent weeks.
Richer endured criticisms in relation to the recent arrest of an elections worker, 27-year-old Walter Ringfield Jr., who stole keys and a fob to the Maricopa County Elections Building last week and has also been placed under investigation for stolen items out of the Senate earlier this month. Ringfield was tasked with assisting in logic and accuracy testing, cleanup of tabulation machines, and various paperwork within the ballot tabulation center.
The stolen items were a magnetic security key which assists in activating ballot tabulation machines and a key unlocking the pins atop the tabulation machines.
The stolen election items cost the county over $20,000 in damages, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in a press conference earlier this week.
While Richer’s opponent, State Representative Justin Heap, accused Richer of overlooking Ringfield’s criminal past to hire him, Richer says he did no wrong.
“He didn’t have a felony on his record. You know a charge is different from a conviction,” said Richer. “He was caught. Immediately. Credit to the Board. System worked. He’s in custody. No harm was done.”
1) This just shows, again, you don't know the office, @azjustinheap. The guy was working in TABULATION (not under the Recorder's Office). Do your homework.
2) He didn't have a felony on his record. You know a charge is different from a conviction. You're a criminal defense… https://t.co/HmJTHErGgZ
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) June 28, 2024
Ringfield was arrested last year in relation to a theft of over $1,000 from a Fry’s grocery store. The county’s background check didn’t flag that arrest because Ringfield entered a diversion program, which had him on felony release.
Richer initially denied that Ringfield was the same individual who filed a statement of interest last year to run in this year’s Senate race as a Democrat.
Yep. Not the same guy. Although surely you wouldn't say being convicted a crime is disqualifying for a candidate, right?
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) June 25, 2024
Richer later admitted he was wrong, apologizing to GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake’s top advisor, Caroline Wren, as well as radio personality Garret Lewis and lawyer Tom Ryan.
No. I do not. In my haste, I got this one wrong and I apologize for that. Thank you, @CarolineWren , for your patience. And also, my apologies to @GarretLewis, @tomryanlaw, and anyone else lead astray.
The man arrested appears to be the same who filed a statement to run as…
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) June 26, 2024
Maricopa County reported that Ringfield began working in elections on June 3. The county sheriff’s office commended the elections staff for recognizing the missing items in a timely manner.
After an alleged error cost the Republican Party’s favored candidate for Maricopa County Recorder the chance to participate in a televised debate, Arizona PBS is reportedly trying to make amends with Arizona State Rep. Justin Heap and his supporters.
As reported by The Arizona Daily Independent, the June 11 debate made headlines for all the wrong reasons when just two of the three candidates in the GOP Primary were invited, namely Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and Don Hiatt. Heap’s absence was notable, public, and embarrassing for the public broadcaster.
Both Richer and Hiatt capitalized on the State Representative’s absence, taking rhetorical shots at Heap and moderator and “Arizona Horizon” host Ted Simons. Simons, who severs as Managing Editor of the platform, failed to acknowledge the error before the debate commenced.
Sources near the Heap campaign told ADI that they weren’t contacted by Arizona PBS until an hour before the event was to take place. Heap himself only became aware of it after seeing it on Richer’s X feed. Producers from Arizona PBS asked at 3PM on the 11th if he could get to the studio by 4PM… from East Mesa… in rush-hour. He replied that he could get there by 4:15PM at the earliest, and Arizona PBS informed him that would be too late.
It wasn’t until later that a request was found emailed to Heap’s official legislative email account. And had he replied to it, political consultants advised, he could be prosecuted for violating state law by using public resources for a partisan campaign.
After contacting Heap with a formal apology, Arizona PBS will air a one-on-one interview with Heap Thursday at 5 PM, an hour before the CNN Presidential Debate. In a letter to Heap, Arizona PBS political news producer, Grace Provenzano, apologized to the candidate.
In the letter obtained by the Independent, Provenzano wrote, “I want to apologize, once again, for our failure to reach you in a timely fashion in advance of the Maricopa County Recorder debate event yesterday. We know that it placed you and your campaign at a disadvantage and for that we are truly sorry.
In order to provide equitable airtime, we would like to schedule a one-on-one interview with you and Horizon host Ted Simons to offer you the opportunity to discuss your campaign platform and issues for our viewers. The interview would be pre-taped to air during the regular broadcast of Arizona Horizon the same day it is recorded. We would like to schedule the on-set interview as soon as possible so it can be seen prior to the beginning of the early primary voting.”
The outlet reported that the interview will be aired Thursday, June 27 at 5 PM.
In a post to X, Heap answered his opponents’ comments on his absence from the debate, writing in part, “The desperation from my opponents & their supporters is just embarrassing at this point They’re laughably trying to claim I’m too ‘scared’ to debate them in the government-subsidized PBS debate. Let’s clear something up, we’ve already debated once, and I won easily. We also have a Clean Elections Debate coming up. In fact, tonight’s debate is yet another example why we shouldn’t have state-subsidized media outlets like PBS. Their incompetence is so glaring that they couldn’t even manage to properly contact me or my campaign about the debate. …or maybe they just wanted to help their preferred Democrat-friendly candidates. Whatever the reason, it’s PBS with their total of ~53 viewers. FWIW, I made a good faith effort to rearrange my schedule and attend; however, it simply wasn’t possible without disrespecting the voters who had already made plans to come and meet with me about my plans for the Recorder’s office.”
The desperation from my opponents & their supporters is just embarrassing at this point
They’re laughably trying to claim I’m too “scared” to debate them in the government-subsidized PBS debate😂
Let’s clear something up, we’ve already debated once, and I won easily.
We also…
— Az State Rep. Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) June 12, 2024
Heap would later participate in the forum presented by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission on June 24 and made serious accusation against incumbent Stephen Richer saying that election rules were not followed and that Arizonans have a right to be skeptical about election results. He said that legal safeguards weren’t followed according to 12News and that the signature verification process for mail-in ballots was “inadequate.”
“I do not trust the system as it is currently being operated,” Heap added.
