AZ Senate GOP: Man accused of election center theft may have also stolen from Legislature

Arizona Senate Republicans say the man accused of stealing a security fob from a county election headquarters last week may have also stolen from a legislative employee days earlier.

Surveillance video footage of the incident was released by the Arizona Senate GOP X account on Wednesday. The post says the video "appears to" show Walter Ringfield, a 27-year-old Phoenix resident who isn’t currently registered as a member of a political party in Arizona, taking "personal items" from a Senate employee on June 15.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety confirmed that it is investigating the incident, but did not say whether Ringfield is a suspect. The department did not confirm whether Ringfield is the man who appeared in the video, and a spokesperson for the agency did not provide any additional information on Wednesday.

Ringfield also allegedly stole a lanyard with a security fob and a physical key from the Maricopa County election center on June 20. He was working in the center's tabulation room as a temporary employee. Both items were recovered.

Court documents show Ringfield is charged with felony criminal damage and misdemeanor theft in the county incident, and that a search warrant was executed on his home. He is currently in custody and is being held without bail.

The case comes just about a week before early ballots are set to go out to voters for the state primary. In recent years, election operations have been subject to increased scrutiny nationwide amid a polarized political climate and the spread of voting conspiracies.

What does the GOP video show?

Video posted online by the Senate GOP caucus shows a man who appears to be Ringfield on the first floor of the Arizona Senate building in Phoenix, which is open to the public.

The man in the footage appears to be testing the doors of the two hearing rooms, only to find them locked. When a Senate security guard approaches him, he points toward a set of doors, apparently indicating that is his destination.

The next video clip shows the back stairway of the Senate, which is posted as being accessible only to legislators and staff. The man is filmed going up, then down, the stairway, which leads to lawmaker’s offices, as well as those of staffers. He appears to be holding papers, and he seems to pick up several items and put them in his pockets. The items are not identifiable in the video.

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The security guard finds him, again, and walks with him toward the Senate lobby before the tape cuts off.

Kim Quintero, a spokesperson for Arizona Senate Republicans, on Thursday told The Arizona Republic the man in the video "did not work for the Senate."

Quintero said the man claimed to the security guard he was an intern for Sen. Juan Mendez and was making a delivery to the Tempe Democrat. Senate Democrats in a Thursday social media post indicated that claim was not true.

"He did not work for Senator Mendez in any capacity," the caucus said in a post on X . "Senator Mendez has no knowledge of the individual and has no recollection of ever meeting him."

Officials say security protocols worked, but incident still stirs doubts

The fob that was allegedly stolen from the Maricopa County election center works in conjunction with passcodes to use tabulators, machines that tally votes on paper ballots.

The physical key on the same lanyard opens a blue bin beneath the machine that holds ballots following vote tallying.

Officials said Tuesday that the fob wouldn't have allowed Ringfield to independently operate the county's tabulators. They also said that the vote tallying process was not occurring last week.

County officials said they would reprogram and retest election equipment ahead of the upcoming state primary. They stressed that the incident should have no impact on the election, and said it should give voters confidence that the county's security protocols work as intended.

"Hopefully, what it should do, is instill even more confidence in folks out in the community," said Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates on Tuesday, noting election officials were aware of the theft within hours and the fob was found quickly.

Some have been less optimistic.

On Wednesday morning, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley released a statement on the incident in conjunction with Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda. He wrote that the incident "raises serious questions about election security in Arizona that must be answered," while Swoboda said the county needed to take immediate steps to "fortify security measures and prevent future incidents."

During the 2024 legislative session, Swoboda worked as an election policy consultant at the Arizona Senate, where Ringfield allegedly stole other items. She's also the executive director of Voter Reference, a group that has been accused of facilitating false election conspiracies.

Who is Walter Ringfield?

Election officials said Monday that Ringfield was hired on June 3 as a temporary ballot tabulation center operator. A background check was required and came back without any criminal convictions, according to an Elections Department spokesperson.

But court documents show Ringfield was previously charged with pocketing more than $1,000 in cash from Fry's Food And Drug last year. The case never went to a conviction. Instead, Ringfield entered a diversion program and prosecution was suspended.

Ringfield was terminated on June 21, county officials said.

A review of voter records shows Ringfield registered as an independent in 2015. Less than a year later, he briefly registered as a Democrat. In recent primary elections, he has requested Democratic ballots. He also appears to have filed a statement of interest with the Arizona Secretary of State's Office in January 2023 to run for U.S. Senate as a Democrat.

An Instagram account that appears to belong to Ringfield includes photos of him with Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly and Amy Klobuchar. But he also appears to use a Truth Social account that includes links to conservative outlets such as the Epoch Times and Gateway Pundit. Other social media accounts that appear to be Ringfield's were made private or deleted as of Monday afternoon.

Sheriff Russ Skinner said Tuesday that investigators are continuing to actively look into the theft and are combing through digital and physical evidence. He said there isn't "any indication" that the fob was stolen in an effort to influence the election.

"But, we're not ruling it out," Skinner said. "We're going to leave no stone unturned... but at this point, we do not have anything that indicates that."

Reporters Mary Jo Pitzl and Ray Stern contributed to this story.

Sasha Hupka covers county government and election administration for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com . Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka . Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps .

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ Senate GOP: Man accused of election center theft may have also stolen from Legislature