Arizona election worker arrested for allegedly stealing digital key for vote counting machines.
An electoral worker in Maricopa County, Arizona, has been arrested for allegedly stealing a digital magnetic key that can be used to access the county’s voting machines. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) held a press conference on Tuesday that was light on details but emphasized to the public that they are prepared for anything that may happen as the 2024 presidential election approaches.
Walter Ringfield Jr., a 27-year-old from Phoenix, was temporarily working at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC) when someone noticed on June 20 that a red lanyard containing keys and a digital voting equipment remote had gone missing. After reviewing surveillance footage, Ringfield was identified as the person who picked up the keys around 5 p.m. local time that day, according to an MCSO press release.
“When confronted by his employer, Ringfield denied the theft, but then suggested that the lanyard might be in his car if he had accidentally taken it,” MCSO explained in a press release. “A subsequent search of his vehicle revealed a red lanyard and a matching plastic tag, but the remote was still missing.”
Ringfield was arrested the next day at his home, where the officers who arrested him “observed a red plastic item consistent with the missing lanyard inside his vehicle.” MCSO alleges that Ringfield admitted at that time to taking the remote.
### Key Theft Concerns
The concern about the remote, or the “digital magnetic key,” as it was later described, is that it has the potential to allow someone to tamper with vote counts. Former President Donald Trump has made baseless claims that he actually won the 2020 election, claims that have been debunked in courts across the country where no election fraud has been found.
County officials displayed a digital key during the press conference as an example of what was allegedly stolen. After discovering one was missing, election officials immediately reprogrammed all system keys.
“From my understanding, the stolen digital magnetic key is something that has the potential to log into the MCTEC tabulation machines. You can understand the concern and implications this could have,” Sheriff Russ Skinner said during a live-streamed press conference on Tuesday.
Regardless of what happens with Ringfield, Maricopa County officials clearly want to give the impression that they are ahead of the game in election security leading up to the November elections. And that makes sense, given all the falsehoods that Trump and his cronies are spreading right now.
“Let me make this clear: MCSO and our partnership will remain vigilant and take necessary steps to ensure that our community, our staff, and our facilities remain safe throughout the election cycle,” Skinner said.
