Maricopa County Election Worker Arrested, Equipment Being Reprogrammed

A temporary elections worker at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in downtown Phoenix was taken into custody on Friday for allegedly stealing a "security fob" used with voting equipment.

According to KTAR-TV, authorities reported on Monday that 27-year-old Walter Ringfield was seen on surveillance footage taking the fob and some keys from a desk around 5 p.m. on Thursday.

The probable cause statement for Ringfield's arrest detailed, “On the desk there was a red scrunchy wrist lanyard with a security fob and keys attached.” It continued, “Walter stops at the desk, grabs the lanyard with the security fob, and continues walking. Walter then puts the security fob and lanyard into the right pocket of his shorts.”

Detectives searched Ringfield’s home on Friday and discovered the security fob in his dresser and the wrist lanyard in his car, according to authorities.

Jennifer Liewer, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Elections Department, said, “The stolen item has been recovered, but to ensure the integrity of Maricopa County Elections, election workers are reprogramming and re-conducting logic and accuracy testing of all equipment.”

KTAR reported that the fob is “used in conjunction with secure tablets at the elections center, according to the arrest report.”

A facility director estimated that the reprogramming costs would exceed $19,000 and that the secure operation of the facility would be significantly hindered until reprogramming was complete, as noted in the probable cause statement.

The statement also mentioned, “Walter stated his reason for taking the fob was because he wanted to ‘clean up.’ Walter said the job was temporary and he was trying to make it permanent, so he wanted to clean up.”

KNXV-TV in Phoenix reported that the elections department released a statement addressing the incident, saying, “Maricopa County Elections has referred a matter to law enforcement that involves an alleged theft of an item by a temporary election worker from the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center.”

The department further explained, “On Friday morning, when completing a daily inventory, Maricopa County elections workers identified that an item was taken from the Ballot Tabulation Center on Thursday evening, and staff took immediate action to investigate the matter and contacted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.”

The department reiterated, “The stolen item has been recovered but to ensure the integrity of Maricopa County Elections, election workers are reprogramming and re-conducting logic and accuracy testing of all equipment.”

Maricopa County previously gained national attention during the 2022 midterm elections due to widespread voting machine malfunctions, which resulted in long lines at some polling locations.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake sued the county, arguing that the Election Day disruptions disproportionately affected her candidacy because GOP voters tend to vote in higher numbers on that day.

This month, an Arizona appellate panel dismissed Lake's appeal.

She is currently a candidate for U.S. Senate.