By Mitchell Koch and Ben Bradley
Published: Jun. 24, 2024 at 12:29 PM EDT|Updated: 31 minutes ago
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A temporary election worker has been arrested after allegedly stealing a security fob and keys from the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center last week. Walter Ringfield, 27, faces charges of theft and criminal damage.
Elections Director Jennifer Liewer said that when completing daily inventory on Friday morning, elections workers noticed an item had been taken from the Ballot Tabulation Center on Thursday evening. They took action to investigate the theft and contacted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
According to court documents, Ringfield was seen on surveillance cameras walking past a desk and multiple tabulators just after 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 20. Ringfield then reportedly stopped at the desk, grabbed a “red scrunchy wrist lanyard” with a security fob and keys attached, then put them in his shorts pocket.
Documents say Ringfield was confronted by staff the next day and that he denied taking the lanyard. However, he reportedly told them that if he did mistakenly take something, it could be in his car.
Per court documents, he then let security check his car, where they found a red plastic lanyard on the center console and a plastic tag identifying a station that matched the missing keys. MCSO noted that security did not take the items and saw no sign of the missing fob.
On Friday, MCSO detectives went to Ringfield’s home in north Phoenix and arrested him. Investigators also looked in the window of his car and saw the same red lanyard noted by county security.
During an interview following his arrest, Ringfield reportedly told investigators he did take the fob but that he only kept it for 20 minutes before giving it back. According to court documents, he said he took the fob because the job was temporary and that he was trying to make it permanent, so he wanted to “clean up.”
Detectives served a search warrant at Ringfield’s home and say they found the security fob on a dresser in the master bedroom. They also recovered the lanyard from his car.
According to investigators, the security fobs are used in conjunction with special secure tablets during the election. Because one was removed, every fob and tablet will need to be reprogrammed.
The estimated cost of doing so would be at least $19,000, a county official told investigators, adding that “the secure operation of the facility is greatly impeded until the reprogramming is complete.”
Liewer was not able to provide Arizona’s Family with additional information about any potential impact on upcoming elections. She said in order to ensure election integrity, election workers are currently reprogramming and reconducting testing of all equipment.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said this incident should serve as a reassurance to the public that the state has effective election security measures.
“Our systems are not only designed to detect anomalies but are also supported by dedicated professionals committed to upholding the democratic process,” Fontes said in a statement. “While this event is unwelcome, it speaks the effectiveness of the security protocols built into Arizona’s election systems. The swift actions of the Maricopa County elections staff, including the re-conducting of logic and accuracy tests, builds in extra layers of protection of all affected equipment. This quick response will prevent any potential impact on the upcoming elections. The Secretary of State’s office will collaborate with law enforcement to address and investigate this incident to ensure accountability and swift justice.”
This is an ongoing criminal investigation.
This story is developing. Arizona’s Family will provide updates as we learn more.
Newsessentials Blog 
Posted on June 24, 2024
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