(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) An election worker in Arizona’s Maricopa County who was arrested Friday for allegedly stealing a key fob to the state’s primary election tabulator machines, had plans to eventually run for the United States Senate, the Arizona Independent reported.
Maricopa County detectives recently arrested and charged Walter Ringfield Jr., 27, a Phoenix resident and temporary county employee, with one count of theft and another count of criminal damage.
After some speculation as to the motive for the crime, it turns out that Ringfield filled out a statement of interest to run as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate race in Arizona on Jan. 22, 2023.
Unfortunately for Ringfield, however, the U.S. Constitution requires that Senators be 30 years old, and Ringfield is only 27. Furthermore, he is reportedly on probation for a previous felony.
The fact that he wished to run as a Democrat reveals his political leanings and narrows down the reasons why he might have stolen the key fob. Still, authorities have not yet found any clear answers.
In response, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, an outspoken election-integrity advocate, has come down hard on Ringfield, not allowing him to post bail. Responses from other public officials have varied.
According to a Local 10 report, at a Tuesday press conference, Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner said that “this is not your average theft,” but denied having any knowledge of what may motivated Redfield.
The Republican National Committee also issued a statement, noting that it had sent staff to Maricopa County to investigate the incident.
According to RNC chairman Michael Whatley, the incident provides further reason to be concerned that Maricopa County struggles to run fair and free elections on top of lingering concerns over widespread irregularities in the 2020 and 2022 election cycles.
“This incident raises serious questions about election security in Arizona that must be answered—we will be constructively engaged with Maricopa County officials to ensure that the remedies to this security breach sufficiently address our concerns,” Whatley said in a statement.
Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates, however, rejected Whatley’s view, claiming the fact that Redfield was caught indicated that safety protocols were working.
“The suspect was arrested the day we determined [the fob] was missing,” Gates said.
“This incident has shown all of the protocols that are in place,” he added. “We have cameras. We have observers.”
