GOP primary voters in Arizona’s largest county oust election official who endured years of attacks

PHOENIX — Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer has fought back against death threats, almost constant harassment and streams of misinformation during his nearly four years overseeing elections in one of the nation’s most prominent political battlegrounds. In one case, the day after Richer spoke during a chaotic public meeting when county officials certified the November 2022 election results, he received two voicemails on his cellphone telling him to “run” and “hide.” The caller, a California man whose expletive-laden voicemails claimed Richer wanted to “cheat our elections” and “screw Americans out of true votes,” was arrested earlier this year, according to the Justice Department. He posted on X on Wednesday seeking donations for his November election, which he called the “second-most important race after re-electing President Donald Trump on the ballot.” “This November, we will end the laughingstock elections that have plagued our county, state and nation,” he wrote. “It’s because they see the same problems happening election cycle after election cycle after election cycle, and they cannot get elected officials to even acknowledge that this is a massive problem and address their concerns.” Stan Barnes, a Phoenix-based political consultant and former Republican state senator, said it has become a challenge for average Maricopa County voters to know what’s real and what’s not on issues of election integrity, and they can find whatever answers they want depending upon their political point of view. Consider voting for a Democrat this time around.” Several prominent election deniers also won their GOP primaries for Arizona legislative or congressional races, but results were mixed in races for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, which shares responsibility for overseeing elections.