Stephen Richer

• University of Chicago  (JD)
• Tulane University

Stephen Richer
Recorder of Maricopa County, Arizona
In office January 1, 2021 –January 1, 2025

Stephen Richer is an American politician and lawyer. He was the 30th Recorder of Maricopa County, Arizona from 2021 to 2025, elected in November 2020. ^[1] Richer defeated the Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes by 4,599 votes. ^{[2] [3]} Stephen Richer graduated with a bachelor's degree from Tulane University and obtained a juris doctor degree from the University of Chicago.

Career

In 2019, Richer conducted a partisan audit and drafted a 229-page report that aired unfounded election conspiracies related to the 2018 election. ^[4] Richer's audit alleged Fontes engaged in partisanship and questionable election related practices conspiring with Democratic candidates to gain partisan advantage while presenting an affidavit of a voter who claimed that when he arrived at the polling location he was given a ballot that was pre-filled out for Democratic candidates Sinema and Stanton as anecdotal evidence, which Richer then insinuated was evidence of a more widespread voter fraud conspiracy by Fontes to rig the 2018 election. ^[5]

After taking office, Richer faced scrutiny from his constituent base, who elected him to office based on promises that if elected, he would solve the election-related issues he aired in his audit of the 2018 election. Republican Kari Lake criticized Stephen Richer after losing the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race by over 16,000 votes. ^{[6] [7]}

Dissatisfaction with Richer continued to grow^{[ with whom? ]}, and he was publicly disparaged for disagreeing that the 2020 election was stolen by Democrats in favor of Biden instead of Trump. Richer discussed this in an interview with 60 Minutes that aired on October 7, 2024. ^[8]

References

1. "Maricopa County Recorder". Maricopa County Recorder's Office. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
2. Duda, Jeremy (November 12, 2020). "Stephen Richer wins Maricopa County recorder race, Fontes concedes". Arizona Mirror. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
3. "November General Election Canvass" (PDF). Maricopa County Recorder's Office. November 3, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
4. Duda, Jeremy (April 2, 2019). "'Independent audit' lawyer challenging Fontes for recorder". Arizona Mirror. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
5. Duda, Jeremy (January 31, 2019). "AZGOP audit says Fontes actions questionable, not illegal". Arizona Mirror. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
6. "Kari Lake and Katie Hobbs: Arizona Governor Midterm Election 2022 Live Results". www.nbcnews.com. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
7. "Kari Lake says she has a First Amendment right to lie about Stephen Richer". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
8. As of February 28, 2025 the transcript but not the video is available on 60 Minutes's website: Pelley, Scott (October 7, 2024). "Arizona election officials work to restore confidence in results | 60 Minutes - CBS News". 60 Minutes. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
   However, the video is still available via 60 Minutes's YouTube channel: Pelley, Scott (October 31, 2024). Securing American Elections | 60 Minutes Full Episodes . Retrieved February 28, 2025– via YouTube. (at 13:24 in the video)