Election Worker Arrested for Theft of Security Fob and Keys

(RepublicanNews.org) – An election worker was arrested on Friday, June 21st, after allegedly stealing keys and a security fob. Walter Ringfield, 27, was employed as a temporary worker at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Arizona at the time of the alleged theft.

Ringfield’s colleagues were reported to have noticed that the fob and keys were missing while carrying out a routine inventory check on Friday morning. They accused Ringfield of having taken them. Ringfield is said to have claimed that he took them but handed them back after just 20 minutes. He said that he had merely been tidying up the offices in the hope of impressing his employers and securing a permanent role.

Surveillance footage revealed that Ringfield picked up a red lanyard with security fob and keys attached from a desk at around 5pm on Thursday, pocketed them, and then walked away from the scene. Police searched his Phoenix residence the following day and found the missing fob inside a bedroom dresser. The lanyard to which it had been attached was inside his car, according to law enforcement records.

Both the security fob and the keys are used in programming voting machines. The voting machines at the Maricopa facility had already been programmed and tested in advance of mail-in ballots being posted out on July 3rd. Staff at the county’s election department have since had to carry out accuracy and logic testing to make sure the machines are still usable in advance of the upcoming primary vote. Arizona will hold a primary election on July 30th to select candidates for several state and federal positions. Staff have also had to reprogram every fob and tablet held by the facility as a precautionary measure.

Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner praised the election staff and police officers involved in the case for their speedy actions, which he said had helped to “safeguard democracy.” Ringfield, who reportedly had ambitions of running for Senate as a Democratic candidate, was immediately fired. He now faces charges of theft and criminal damage and has not been allowed bail as he was already on probation for an earlier felony.