Maricopa County Recorder Advised DHS to Hold Media ‘Bootcamps’ to Moderate Speech

Maricopa County Recorder Advised DHS to Hold Media ‘Bootcamps’ to Moderate Speech

By Corinne Murdock |

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer worked with the federal government to moderate speech, suggesting in one meeting that they hold “bootcamps” for media outlets to improve election reporting. Richer clarified to AZ Free News that he doesn’t advise or direct the actions of the federal government.

According to documents obtained by Trump’s 2024 campaign attorney Christina Bobb, Richer met with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Cybersecurity Advisory Committee (CSAC) Misinformation & Disinformation (MDM) Subcommittee in March. CISA is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

Richer cited The Gateway Pundit (TGP) reporting on a debunked claim that county election officials held an unannounced meeting as one example of misinformation. 

TGP sued Maricopa County last month, TGP Communications v. Sellers, for denying one of its reporters a press pass. On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the county to issue the press pass while litigation continues. The court asserted that the county likely violated the First Amendment, finding that the county discriminated against TGP for its reporter’s political views.

This reporter asked Maricopa County for comment on the order to issue a press pass. The county responded that it doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation.

AZ Free News asked Richer about this collaboration with CISA, as well as his decision to delete the below tweet amid the ongoing lawsuit. Richer responded that his remarks to CISA weren’t unique from remarks that he’s shared with many other audiences. He added that the documents posted on Twitter summarized the topics he discussed.

“I don’t advise them on anything or direct any of their actions. I think they just wanted the perspective of an election administrator and what I try to do to share accurate voting information,” stated Richer.

As for the tweet, Richer explained that he occasionally deletes posts that he dislikes or believes to be unproductive in hindsight. He added that he doesn’t keep track of the posts he deletes or the reasons why he deleted them.

Richer told the MDM Subcommittee that the federal government and CISA had low credibility in rumor control. He advised that those with the most credibility were local community members, mainstream media, and social media companies like Twitter and Facebook.

Along with the misinformation and disinformation claims, Richer told CISA that some were guilty of “malinformation” by submitting too many public records requests. In its meeting summary, CISA characterized the increase in requests as an “abuse.”

“In 2019, Maricopa County received 30-40 public records requests. In 2021, they received over 350 requests ranging from requests to produce everything related to the 2020 election to all email communications related to elections, to all the rules and processes on how the elections are administered,” stated the report. “This example highlights how individuals can use lawful means to burden a system already stretched thin.”

Those leading the MDM Subcommittee meeting were Megan Tsuyi, designated federal officer for CSAC and MDM Subcommittee; Kate Starbird, a University of Washington professor and MDM Subcommittee chair; and Kim Wyman, CISA senior election security lead.

Others present at the meeting were Vijaya Gadde, the legal, public policy, and trust and safety lead for Twitter; and Suzanne Spalding, senior DHS advisor and director of Defending Democratic Institutions Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Maricopa County Recorder Fundraised Off Voting Machine Failures

Maricopa County Recorder Fundraised Off Voting Machine Failures

By Corinne Murdock |

“Where there’s crisis, there’s opportunity,” as the saying often attributed to Albert Einstein goes. 

In the midst of a widespread Election Day disaster concerning tabulation machine malfunctions reportedly caused by printer settings, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer capitalized on the crisis in his county as an opportunity to fundraise for his campaign. 

In an email to voters publicized by the Arizona Daily Independent, Richer explained his office takes responsibility for voter registration and early voting. Those in charge of the tabulator failures would be the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, he added, throwing in commendation of his own job performance. Richer included a contribution link and a disclosure that the email was paid for by his reelection campaign.

“Since becoming Recorder in 2021, I have worked hard to improve voter registration and Early Voting, while also supporting the Board’s administration of Election Day operations and tabulation, as well as bolstering communications about elections holistically,” Richer said in the email.

On Richer’s personal Twitter account, which he usually uses to discuss his work, this letter was published without disclosing its campaign origins or including the contribution request. 

Voters faced with faulty vote centers were faced with multiple options, some leading to potential disenfranchisement: leave without voting, spoil their ballot, cast a provisional ballot, or wait in the hopes that their ballot would be tabulated properly (sometimes for hours). 

GOP consultant Constantin Querard told the ADI that this was a bad move on Richer’s part.

“I can’t imagine a worse time for a County Recorder to be soliciting contributions than on Election Day, while your voters are stuck in line, waiting for your malfunctioning machines to be repaired so they can vote,” said Querard.

Richer’s term doesn’t end until 2025. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Maricopa County Recorder Continues To Mock Election Audit 

Maricopa County Recorder Continues To Mock Election Audit 

By Corinne Murdock

The Maricopa County Recorder isn’t just dedicated to elections — he’s dedicated to commemorative literature. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer bought multiple copies, or “a box,” of a book satirizing the Arizona Senate’s 2020 election audit, “Goodnight Audit,” a parody of the classic children’s book, “Goodnight Moon.” 

“Goodnight Audit” author Trevor Nelson, a parent activist and marketing manager, shared Richer’s post.

Nelson’s tweet from early last May served as inspiration for the cover art of the book. The post played on the name of Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott), pointing out a fan left on in the abandoned room. 

The original inspiration for Nelson’s post came from Garrett Archer, ABC15 Data Analyst and former Arizona Secretary of State Senior Elections Analyst, who pointed out that the auditors left a fan running on site after they’d left for the day. 

Several weeks later, Nelson launched a Twitter account to help fundraise for the parody book, @goodnightaudit. “Good Night Fan” was to be the book’s original title.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Maricopa County Debunks Two of Thousands Listed in ‘Ghost Votes’ Theory

Maricopa County Debunks Two of Thousands Listed in ‘Ghost Votes’ Theory

By Corinne Murdock |

On Friday, Maricopa County issued an explanatory statement of two claimed fraudulent votes outlined in a new “ghost votes” theory challenging the integrity of the 2020 election. Failed state representative candidate and “Stop the Steal” leader Liz Harris led the investigation, reportedly executed by thousands of volunteers.

These were just two claims of hundreds of thousands made in Harris’s report. The grassroots effort claimed that just over 173,100 votes were “lost or missing,” meaning that the voters never saw records from the county that their mail-in vote was counted, and that nearly 96,400 mail-in votes were cast by voters who didn’t match the associated residential address or who had moved from the address prior to October 2020 – these Harris called “ghost votes.”

Maricopa County officials explained that they investigated two of the purported “ghost vote” addresses personally. They were able to identify the first address as an existing single-family home built in 2005 and located in Goodyear. According to their investigation, four registered voters resided in the home, three of whom voted by mail in the November election.

As for the second address listed by Harris, Maricopa officials explained that the voter in question had reportedly requested their ballot at a temporary address: the site of a formerly functional mobile home that they’d voted from in the 2016 election. The site in question held mobile homes through part of 2020 before the lot was cleared.

As for the remainder of the information, Maricopa County said that they were unable to conduct a more expansive investigation because Harris wouldn’t provide them with the information she’d gathered. The officials noted that they attempted to contact Harris multiple times about her report, but were unable to connect with her.

“The integrity of election and voter registration data is central to the mission of our Office to serve everyone who calls Maricopa County home. The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office have repeatedly asked Ms. Harris to provide details that support the findings of her report,” explained the office. “While we investigate any and all allegations of wrongdoing made, we cannot do so without credible evidence being provided. To date, Ms. Harris has refused to provide the Recorder’s Office or the Assessor’s Office with the kind of information we can use to conduct a full and thorough investigation into the claims made in her report.”

Read Harris’s full report here.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.