After an Arizona primary election last week full of anomalies, the Executive Guidance Committee of the Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC) issued a resolution on August 4 censuring Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican. The resolution cited problems that arose during the election and Richer’s previous denials that election fraud occurred in the 2020 presidential election.
Member-at-large Brian Ference drafted the resolution, which passed 13-11 with two abstentions. It cited “irregularities” in the primary election, including “reports of printers and scanners not working,” “Pentel felt-tip pen smearing and not drying,” and “late counting and delayed results.”
The resolution listed seven statements Richer made in his August 19, 2021 “Open Letter to Maricopa County,” which was his opinion claiming there was no election fraud in the 2020 election (he was not in office during that election). It has been pinned to the top of his Twitter feed since that date. His statements include, “Nobody stole Maricopa County’s election. Elections in Maricopa County aren’t rigged.” Another statement by Richer asserted there were “no serious mishaps or anomalies …” The MCRC also singled out his comment “I’m embarrassed listening to my party concoct the most outlandish theories (Chinese ballots!) to avoid accepting the reality: we lost the top two races in Arizona.”
The resolution noted that Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward called Richer “ill-prepared and incompetent” and has no confidence in his ability to perform his job. Thus, she supports a recall.
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times
