PHOENIX — Maricopa County elections officials will reportedly need to spend thousands of dollars to reprogram security equipment after an apparent theft at an election facility.
On June 20, surveillance footage within the Maricopa County elections building in downtown Phoenix captured an employee taking a “security fob” and keys off a desk before putting them in his pocket.
MCSO officials spoke about the arrest on Tuesday:
According to police documents, the employee was questioned about the alleged theft, but he denied taking the security fob and keys.
The next day, detectives went to the man’s home and saw part of the keys in his vehicle. He was arrested and told police that he was fired from his temporary job at the facility because “they thought he stole something.”
The individual then said he took the items to “clean up” in hopes it would lead to a permanent job. The security fob was not recovered.
Documents say the security fobs secure tablets during the election and, because the fob was not located, equipment at the facility will need to be reprogrammed, which is expected to cost around $20,000 or more.
Election officials told police, “the secure operation of the facility is greatly impeded until the reprogramming is complete.”
The suspect was booked into jail on charges of theft and criminal damage due to the cost of the work that will need to be done to re-secure the facility.
MCSO says they have found no indication that this incident was politically motivated.
The Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center sent the following statement about the incident:
"Maricopa County Elections has referred a matter to law enforcement that involves an alleged theft of an item by a temporary election worker from the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center.
On Friday morning, when completing a daily inventory, Maricopa County elections workers identified that an item was taken from the Ballot Tabulation Center on Thursday evening, and staff took immediate action to investigate the matter and contacted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The stolen item has been recovered but to ensure the integrity of Maricopa County Elections, election workers are reprogramming and re-conducting logic and accuracy testing of all equipment.
Due to the on-going criminal investigation of this matter, we cannot provide any additional comment or details. For information, please contact Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Office."
