By Jen Fifield | VoteBeat
A temporary election worker in Maricopa County was arrested Friday after allegedly stealing keys and a security fob that can be used to gain access to the county’s ballot tabulation machines.
With just a week to go before mail ballots go out, Maricopa County detectives charged Walter Ringfield Jr., a 27-year-old Phoenix resident, with one count of theft and one count of criminal damage, after they say he took a lanyard with the fob and keys attached while working in the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center. He is in custody and won’t be released unless a court order allows, according to court documents.
Ringfield told detectives during his arrest that he took the fob for 20 minutes the day before and then gave it back. But detectives located the fob in his house after obtaining a search warrant. His motive for taking it was unclear, but he suggested to detectives that it may have been a mistake.
