A temporary election worker in Arizona is accused of stealing keys and a security fob used to access the county’s ballot tabulation machines – a month before the state is set to hold its primary election.
Walter Ringfield Jr., a 27-year-old Phoenix resident, was arrested by Maricopa County detectives on Friday while working at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center, according to Votebeat .
County workers noticed that a lanyard containing the security fob and plastic key was missing and accused Ringfield of taking it. Ringfield – who previously expressed an interest as running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate – reportedly told detectives he took the security fob for 20 minutes but gave it back.
His arrest comes as Arizona continues to be a battleground in presidential elections. Maricopa County, the largest in the state, has faced allegations of election fraud and improper counting of ballots in recent elections.
Ringfield was fired, taken into custody and will not be released until a judge permits it.