Maricopa election officials work to restore belief in the ballot as some continue to sow doubt in elections
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer joined 60 minutes this week to discuss misinformation, election integrity and the personal backlash he has faced defending the sound voting processes of the nation's fifth largest county.Reporter Scott Pelley contrasts Richer's evidence-based stance with that of state GOP volunteer Shelby Busch and adds the insights of other notables, attorney Ben Ginsberg and County Supervisor Clint Hickman.
CBS News
With Donald Trump pulling out of his 60 Minutes interview tonight, we'll turn to a different Republican who is paying the price for Trump's claims of a stolen 2020 election. Stephen Richer helps administer voting in Maricopa County, Arizona. That's Phoenix and home to 60% of Arizona voters. Maricopa is often decisive in a state which swings either way. Trump claimed Maricopa county was stolen in 2020. Republican Stephen Richer was determined to find the truth -- to restore belief in the ballot. He discovered that truth wasn't what many wanted to hear, as he explains to reporter Scott Pelley.
Stephen Richer: I've become much more cynical about politics. There are a lot of people who have no lines in the sand. A lot of politicians. A lot of politicians for whom it's like oxygen, that if you told them they weren't going to be reelected, it would be like unplugging them from oxygen. So whichever way the winds are blowing, even if it's highly immoral, that they're on-- they're on for the ride.
Scott Pelley: What are your fears for this coming Election Day?
Stephen Richer: That we'll, we'll be doing this again for another four years.
Nearly four years ago, Republican attorney Stephen Richer was the voter's choice for Maricopa County recorder, the office that records voter registration and handles ballots by mail. Richer took office after the 2020 vote when his own party was up in arms over allegations of fraud. It was Richer's first elected office and he knew what to do.
ADDITIONAL NEWS FROM THE INTEGRITY PROJECT