Helen Purcell | |
---|---|
Maricopa County Recorder | |
In office January 3, 1989 – January 1, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Keith Poletis |
Succeeded by | Adrian Fontes |
Personal details | |
Born | Helen Purcell Topeka, Kansas, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Residence | Phoenix, Arizona |
Occupation | Real estate trust officer |
Helen Purcell served seven terms as the County Recorder for Maricopa County, Arizona. First elected in 1988, Purcell is a member of the Republican Party, and served until 2017.
Purcell faced significant controversy following Arizona's 2016 presidential primary in which voters faced long wait times to vote due to a significant reduction in polling places from several hundred to 60. [1] Purcell also received criticism from a 2014 incident where a candidate was left off the ballot. [2] Another controversy occurred in April 2016 when Purcell's office was forced to reprint 700,000 ballots after a mistake was discovered on the Spanish-language version of the ballots. [3]
Purcell faced a serious primary challenge in 2016, narrowly winning the Republican nomination by 185 votes. She lost to Democratic challenger Adrian Fontes in the general election. [4] [5]
Purcell began her career with T.J.Bettes Mortgage Company in Texas. Moving to Phoenix in 1964, Purcell became a real estate trust officer with the firm Stewart Title & Trust.
Arizona's Presidential Primary election saw historically long lines, with some voters waiting six hours to vote. [6] After initially blaming voters for the long lines, Purcell took much of the blame for the delay after reducing the number of polling places to 60, instead of the 200 used in the 2012 Presidential election. [7]
Within a day after the election took place, a petition on the White House petitions site asking the Department of Justice to investigate voter suppression and election fraud in Arizona reached its goal of 100,000 signatures in a record amount of time. [8] Members of Arizona's House of Representatives called for Purcell to resign. [9] [10]
As a result of the election, and after a request by Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, the Department of Justice launched a federal investigation into the primary. [11]
Professor of electoral law Richard L. Hasen created the "Purcell principle" after the 2006 Supreme Court case Purcell v. Gonzalez in which Purcell was sued in her official capacity. The principle states that lower courts should be very reluctant to change the rules just before an election, because of the risk of voter confusion and chaos for election officials. [16] [17]
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link)
Helen Purcell | |
---|---|
Maricopa County Recorder | |
In office January 3, 1989 – January 1, 2017 | |
Preceded by | Keith Poletis |
Succeeded by | Adrian Fontes |
Personal details | |
Born | Helen Purcell Topeka, Kansas, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Residence | Phoenix, Arizona |
Occupation | Real estate trust officer |
Helen Purcell served seven terms as the County Recorder for Maricopa County, Arizona. First elected in 1988, Purcell is a member of the Republican Party, and served until 2017.
Purcell faced significant controversy following Arizona's 2016 presidential primary in which voters faced long wait times to vote due to a significant reduction in polling places from several hundred to 60. [1] Purcell also received criticism from a 2014 incident where a candidate was left off the ballot. [2] Another controversy occurred in April 2016 when Purcell's office was forced to reprint 700,000 ballots after a mistake was discovered on the Spanish-language version of the ballots. [3]
Purcell faced a serious primary challenge in 2016, narrowly winning the Republican nomination by 185 votes. She lost to Democratic challenger Adrian Fontes in the general election. [4] [5]
Purcell began her career with T.J.Bettes Mortgage Company in Texas. Moving to Phoenix in 1964, Purcell became a real estate trust officer with the firm Stewart Title & Trust.
Arizona's Presidential Primary election saw historically long lines, with some voters waiting six hours to vote. [6] After initially blaming voters for the long lines, Purcell took much of the blame for the delay after reducing the number of polling places to 60, instead of the 200 used in the 2012 Presidential election. [7]
Within a day after the election took place, a petition on the White House petitions site asking the Department of Justice to investigate voter suppression and election fraud in Arizona reached its goal of 100,000 signatures in a record amount of time. [8] Members of Arizona's House of Representatives called for Purcell to resign. [9] [10]
As a result of the election, and after a request by Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, the Department of Justice launched a federal investigation into the primary. [11]
Professor of electoral law Richard L. Hasen created the "Purcell principle" after the 2006 Supreme Court case Purcell v. Gonzalez in which Purcell was sued in her official capacity. The principle states that lower courts should be very reluctant to change the rules just before an election, because of the risk of voter confusion and chaos for election officials. [16] [17]
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link)