Meet the Leadership

Election Administration in Maricopa County

Under Arizona law, the administration of elections within Maricopa County is divided between the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and the Maricopa County Recorder. The Board of Supervisors is responsible for overseeing Election Day operations and vote tabulation, while the Recorder is tasked with managing voter registration and early voting, including mail-in voting.

 

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Recorder's Office work in concert to administer jurisdictional elections within the County, such as city and town races, city bond measures, and school district override measures, as well as the once-every-four-years Presidential Preference Elections, and the biannual July Primary Election, and the November General Election. 

 

 

Stephen Richer is the 30th Recorder of Maricopa County. He was elected in November 2020 and took office in January 2021.   

 

His office of approximately 150 employees records hundreds of thousands of public documents every year, maintains a voter registration database of 2.4 million voters -- the second largest voting jurisdiction in the United States -- and administers the mail voting component of all elections in Maricopa County.

 

Prior to his time as Recorder, Stephen worked in various business sectors and, later, as an attorney at the law firms Steptoe & Johnson LLP and Lewis Roca LLP.  He holds a J.D. and M.A. from The University of Chicago and a B.A. from Tulane University.  He is completing his PhD at Arizona State University.

 

Awards and Recognitions

 

•    "Arizonan of the Year." December 2021. The Arizona Republic.
•    “Best Republican Politician.” December 2021. The Phoenix New Times
•    "Public Law Attorney of the Year." November 2022. Maricopa County Bar Association.
•    "Grant Woods Service to Law & Community Award." November 2022. State Bar of Arizona.
•    “Leader of the Year, Government.” September 2023. Arizona Capitol Times.
•    “Best Republican Politician.” June 2024. Arizona Capitol Times.
•    “Best Political Twitter Account.” June 2024. Arizona Capitol Times.

 

Some Office Accomplishments

 

•    Redesigned and rebuilt the county’s voter registration database
•    Administered largest-ever voter roll cleanup project
•    Enhanced signature verification procedures on mail ballots
•    Added chain of custody documentation on mail ballots
•    Increased ballot tracking options through the voter’s individual voter dashboard at BeBallotReady.Vote.
•    Reduced response time for phone calls and emails from county residents
•    Designed and launched “Maricopa Title Alert” as a tool to detect potential deed fraud.
•    Indexed over 2 million historic recordings to make them searchable
•    Redesigned and deployed the elections and recording websites

Election Responsibilities

The Recorder's duties are expansive with regard to voter registration, early voting, and provisional ballots. Some of these responsibilities, as defined in Arizona law include:

 

  1. Voter Registration
  2. Administering early voting and special district mail ballot elections
  3. Ensuring compliance with the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)
  4. Maintaining voter rolls and inactive voter lists 
  5. Special Election Boards
  6. Petition and other candidate nomination challenges
  7. Certifying, creating, and distributing precinct registers
  8. Provisional ballots and voter challenges

 

The operation and administrative authority to carry out the Recorder's statutory responsibilities with regard to elections are provided to the Recorder's Office Elections Director (Director of Mail-In Voting and Election Services), who is responsible for the following:

 

  1. Design, preparation, presentation, and execution of the Recorder's approved Early Voting Election Plan for all applicable elections that fall within the authority of the Recorder's Office.
  2. Managing access to voter rolls for use in the election process.
  3. Oversight of all early voting activities, including administration of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) program, Special Election Boards (SEB) program, signature verification of early ballots, completing chain of custody documentation.
  4. Responsible for the overseeing of candidate filing and campaign finance procedures outlined in A.R.S. Title 16, Chapters 3 and 6.
  5. Processing of provisional ballots in conjunction with the Voter Registration Department.

Board of Supervisors

The County is governed by five elected district supervisors. The Board of Supervisors appoints a county manager. The Board sets the agenda and approves a budget that allocates money to all departments and elected offices.
 

Learn more about the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors

 

CLICK HERE

 

Election Responsibilities

The Board's responsibilities with respect to elections are quite broad, ranging from the requirement to call and notice elections to tallying election results. Some of these responsibilities, as defined in Arizona law are listed below:

 

  1. Creating the County Election Plans
  2. Creating the Early Voting Plan
  3. Designating polling locations and providing supplies
  4. Appointment and training of poll workers
  5. Tallying and certifying election results.
  6. Tabulation

Under the supervision of the Board of Supervisors, the Elections Director (Director of In-Person Voting and Tabulation) reports to the Board of Supervisors and plans, directs, organizes, coordinates, and evaluates the overall activities of the Elections Department, which includes planning, management, and execution of elections that fall under the Maricopa County Elections Department. He oversees and acts as the appointing authority for the department and is responsible for the management of the overall activities of the department.

The operation and administrative authority to carry out the Board's statutory responsibilities with regard to elections are provided to the Director of In-Person Voting and Tabulation, who is responsible for the following:

 

  1. Design, preparation, presentation, and execution of the Board's approved Election Day Plan.

  2. Design, preparation, presentation, and execution of the Recorder's in-person early voting plan in collaboration with the Director of Mail-in Voting and Election Services.

  3. Preparing, designing, and presenting Election Day polling, in-person early voting, and emergency voting locations to the Board and Recorder for approval.

  4. Acquisition, preparation, and setup of in-person voting locations.

  5. Recruiting and training poll workers and central board workers.

  6. Election Day and emergency voting preparations and activities.

  7. Implementing a Wait Time Reduction Plan including projecting Election Day voter turnout.

  8. Warehouse operations.

  9. Prepare and present the official canvass of election results to the Board.

  10. Collaboratively working with the Director of Mail-in Voting and Election Services to ensure chain of custody of election materials is documented.

  1. Design, preparation, presentation, and execution of the Recorder's approved Early Voting Election Plan.
  2. Managing access to voter rolls for use in the election process to include but not limited to updating voter registration information at the polls and other workflow production as prescribed for by the Recorder.
  3. Oversight of all Early Voting activities, including administration of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) program, Special Election Boards (SEB) program, Signature Verification of early ballots, completing chain of custody documentation, and ensuring hand-offs between shared functions are seamless and efficient.
  4. Responsible for the overseeing of candidate filing and campaign finance procedures outlined in A.R.S. Title 16, Chapters 3 and 6. 
  5. Processing of provisional ballots in conjunction with the Voter Registration Department.