Maricopa County Elections Theft Suspect Was Named In A 2022 Petition Circulation Lawsuit
By Matthew Holloway |
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.
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.
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.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
