Additional scrutiny of Walter Ringfield Jr., currently under arrest for the theft of an electronic security fob used to access vote tabulation machines from the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center, has revealed a troubling pattern of implication in criminal actions surrounding Arizona elections.
Caroline Wren, a fundraiser and Senior Advisor to GOP U.S. Senate Candidate Kari Lake, has revealed that Ringfield was named in a 2022 lawsuit between the Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) and Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections. The lawsuit challenged the registrations of several of its circulators. Ringfield was identified among those circulators with “multiple infractions against them,” in Exhibit A of the lawsuit by the AFEC.
Hi 👋 @azfec, thanks for highlighting this story. Need your help with something.
In 2022 you filed a lawsuit against Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections challenging the circulator registrations. Per exhibit A in your lawsuit, one of those circulators with multiple infractions… https://t.co/07GHGgaUy8pic.twitter.com/u7Tm0XnyfP
In a post to X, Wren asked three questions regarding Ringfield’s mention in the lawsuit:
Who paid Walter to gather signatures for the Arizonans for Free and Fair Elections campaign?
Has Walter been a signature gatherer for any other campaigns or ballot initiatives in Arizona?
What were the nature of the objections against the signatures Walter turned in in exhibit A of your lawsuit?
Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi offered some answers to AZ Free News, explaining that, “In 2022 Ringfield Jr. worked for Sutton and Smart to collect for Free and Fair.”
Mussi added, “This cycle he worked for a time on the Abortion Initative (through Fieldworks) and is currently registered to collect for the RCV/Jungle Primary initiative (Make Elections Fair) through Advanced Micro Targeting.”
Finally, he revealed AFEC’s objections against Ringfield, “As for the objections we made against Ringfield Jr., they dealt with the fact that he failed to properly register with the Secretary of State as a paid circulator.”
In the complaint filed in 2022 by Mussi, the AFEC alleges, “Signatures collected by certain circulators of the Initiative Petition who were required to have been, but were not, properly registered with the Secretary of State are void as a matter of law. Specifically, these individuals either:
a. Failed to register with the Secretary of State prior to collecting signatures in support of the Initiative Petition, and hence did not strictly comply with A.R.S. § 19-118(A);
b. Failed to provide a signed and notarized affidavit averring to the accuracy of the specific information included in their registration for measure I-16-2022, and hence did not strictly comply with A.R.S. § 19-118(B)(5);
c. Failed to provide on their registration submissions to the Secretary of State a full and complete permanent and (if applicable) temporary residential address—to include the relevant apartment or unit number, if the circulator resided in a multiunit complex—and hence did not strictly comply with A.R.S. § 19-118(B)(1);
d. Misrepresented on their registration submissions to the Secretary of State one or more required items of contact information, and hence did not strictly comply with A.R.S. § 19-118(B)(1); or
e. Failed to provide on their registration submissions to the Secretary of State the statutorily required address for service of process, and hence did not strictly comply with A.R.S. § 19-118(B)(4).”
A search of LinkedIn by Wren also confirmed that one “Walter Ringfield Jr” shows a history of volunteering in 2022 with Our Voice Our Vote, which Wren described as “a far-left wing advocacy group funded by Open Society Foundation,” although this is not reflected by his registrations with the Secretary of State.
In an extensive post to X, Wren outlined that Ringfield also has a previous criminal history and was arrested and charged with one count of theft and criminal damage in 2023 having allegedly stolen $1,800 from a former employer citing VoteBeat and noted that he was entered into a diversion program and was not convicted as a result. It was likely due to this diversion that he was able to pass a background check from Maricopa County.
In case you’re new here or just confused as to what the heck is going on in Maricopa County, here is a quick recap:
On Monday, June 24 the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office @mcsoaz released a statement saying there had been a theft by an election worker at the Maricopa County…
Reporting from the Arizona Daily Independent also noted that Ringfield filed a statement of interest in 2023 to run for U.S. Senate as a Democrat and was also implicated in a June 19 theft from the Arizona Senate Building.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Caroline Wren is an attorney. The story has been corrected.
Last Friday, the AZ Free Enterprise Club filed a lawsuit in federal court against Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes for failing to comply with the National Voter Registration Act’s (NVRA) mandate that he maintain accurate and updated voter registration records. Why? The data shows that there are 500,000 unaccounted for registered voters who are not qualified either due to death or moving out of the state, and in total, up to more than a million voters on the rolls who should not be registered.
Clean and accurate voter rolls are the bedrock of elections run with integrity. Ensuring only those eligible to vote may register and are on the rolls means that only eligible voters may vote in an election. It’s a basic principle: garbage in, garbage out. If we begin with bad data – ineligible individuals on the rolls – the system is susceptible to allowing ineligible ballots to be cast.
That’s why in 2022 we championed two landmark pieces of legislation to accomplish just that, and why, unsurprisingly, Marc Elias and the left’s lawfare machine immediately sued to stop these commonsense safeguards from going into effect. HB2492 ensures only eligible citizens who have provided proof of citizenship can register to vote and HB2243 requires regular and routine voter roll maintenance using several databases of information, with regular reports to the legislature of the results.
Both these laws are consistent with the NVRA’s mandate that states maintain accurate voter registration lists. But right now, Adrian Fontes is failing in his obligations under both, and that’s why we have filed a lawsuit in federal court to force him to do his job.
Four Counties Have More Registered Voters Than People
How do we know? According to the most recent census and voter registration data, more than 90% of the voting age population in Arizona is purportedly registered to vote. The national average is 69.1%. Why would Arizonans register to vote at an absurdly higher rate than the rest of the country? The only answer is that the state and counties are failing to adequately remove individuals who are no longer eligible, leading to bloated rolls…
After failing to comply with an August 2023 legal demand that his office properly update the alleged dirty voter rolls of 14 Arizona counties, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is now the target of a lawsuit from Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi, and former gubernatorial candidate Steve Gaynor, in their capacities as voters as well as Arizona GOP Chairwoman Gina Swoboda in her official capacity.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Attorneys Jason B. Torchinsky, Dallin B. Holt, and Brennan A.R. Bowen representing Mussi sent a pre-litigation letter to Fontes on August 8, 2023. In the statutory notice they informed Fontes of their allegations that these counties are in violation of Section 8 of the National Voting Rights Act.
Arizona’s current and former Secretaries of State have failed to perform the necessary voter list maintenance. Now, 14 counties are in violation of the NVRA. Something must be done. https://t.co/EYgawkK2h0
The legal team cited Census Bureau Data showing that four counties in the state have reported having a larger total of registered voters than citizens over the age of 18. Those counties in particular were Apache County with a startling 117.4%, Santa Cruz County with 112.6%, La Paz County with 100.5%, and Navajo County with 100.1%. The outlying counties possessing much smaller populations when compared to Maricopa and Pima Counties, home to Phoenix and Tucson respectively, only serve to amplify the statistical abnormalities. In addition, the team identified nine other counties with voter registration rates in excess of 90% of voting aged adults with another in excess of 80%.
Registration rates for all 14 counties far eclipse the voter registration rate recorded nationwide in previous elections, noted in the complaint as being 69.1% determined by reviewing the Current Population Survey (“CPS”) data from the U.S. Census Bureau and comparing estimates of registered voters who are actually eligible to be registered. Arizona’s rate is noted as 69.9%
The attorneys explained, “This evidence shows that these counties are not conducting appropriate list maintenance to ensure that the voter registration roll is accurate and current, as required by federal law.”
In the text of the complaint the attorneys noted, “These rates are implausibly high,” adding “The data made public by the Secretary show that Arizona counties have actual registration rates that exceed the expected registration rates provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and evidence a high rate of likely ineligible voter names on the official lists of eligible voters.”
Applying more concrete numbers to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that “Based on even the most conservative data sources, Arizona has at least 500,000 registered voters on the voter rolls who should have otherwise been removed.” They summarized in the complaint, “In other words, at least 500,000 registered voters currently listed on the Secretary’s voter rolls for Arizona are deceased or no longer reside in Arizona.”
In a statement to AZ Free News, The Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Deputy Director of Policy Gregory Blackie said:
“Last year, the Free Enterprise Club sent a pre-litigation NVRA notice to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes highlighting artificially high voter registration rates compared to the most recent US census data. Since then, four Arizona counties continue to have more registered voters than residents of voting age population and the other eleven have rates far exceeding the national average. Ensuring only those eligible to vote are registered is the starting point for conducting elections with integrity. We hope the courts will make sure Fontes complies with the NVRA mandate that he maintain up-to-date and accurate voter registration lists by removing those who are not eligible.”
Mussi, Gaynor, and Swoboda are seeking a declaratory judgement that Fontes has violated Section 8 of the NVRA and that the court issue injunctions “requiring the Secretary to fully comply with any existing procedures that Arizona has in place to ensure ineligible voters are identified and removed from the rolls,” and “develop and implement additional reasonable and effective registration list-maintenance programs to cure their failure to comply with Section 8 of the NVRA and to ensure that ineligible registrants are not on the voter rolls.” The plaintiffs are also seeking that Fontes’ office assume the legal costs and attorneys fees as well.
AZ Free News reached out to Fontes’ office for comment and were informed by Deputy Communications Director JP Martin that “unfortunately the office doesn’t speculate on legal matters in this way.”
A strong economy is a key piece of the foundation for any society. But while the Biden administration has been busy doing anything it can to destroy the economic climate in America over the past four years, Arizona is set up for success—not just for today, but for decades to come.
Last month, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released its latest “Rich States, Poor States” report, and the Grand Canyon State received the number three ranking for economic outlook among all 50 states. Such a high rank is impressive enough on its own, but when you consider that our state was ranked 13 back in 2021, Arizona’s dramatic rise up the chart especially shines. So, how did we get here?
Pro-Growth Policies Have Led the Way
Arizona’s high ranking is a direct result of significant pro-growth income and property tax reform that have supercharged our economy. In just the last decade, we have cut taxes on capital gains and drastically reduced the property tax burden on small businesses. Then, in July 2021, the Free Enterprise Club helped lead the charge as the Republican-led legislature passed a 2.5% flat tax, delivering historic tax cuts for every single Arizona taxpayer. And if that wasn’t enough, Republicans also included tax relief for Arizona’s families in last year’s state budget to help with the growing cost of gas, groceries, housing, and energy under the Biden administration.
Each of these pro-growth policies have set up Arizona as a leader in the country with many other states looking to mirror these reforms, but if the left had gotten its way, we never would have been here.
Arizona is the state with the third best economic climate, according to a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
“Arizona’s high ranking is a direct result of significant pro-growth income and property tax reform that has supercharged our economy,” President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club Scot Mussi told AZ Free News. “In the last decade we have slashed our income tax rates in half, cut taxes on capital gains, and significantly reduced the property tax burden on small businesses.”
Utah and Idaho surpassed the Grand Canyon state for best economic climates. New York, Vermont, and Illinois placed in the bottom three.
Arizona has moved up from 13th place in 2021 to third in 2024. Arizona’s population increased by 115,900 from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, estimates from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity show. This translated into 1.6% growth, much faster than the U.S. at 0.5%.
Arizona ranks third for tax expenditure limits, first for being a right-to-work state with the option to join or support a union, first for estate/inheritance tax levied, and first for remaining tax burden.
It also ranked second for public employees per 10,000 of population and eighth for average worker compensation cost.
Mussi said Arizona is on track to continue its route of economic growth.
“As long as we keep these reforms in place, Arizona will remain a destination for both families and entrepreneurs,” he said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
