Helen Purcell

Helen Purcell
Maricopa County Recorder
Assumed office
January 3, 1989
Preceded by Keith Poletis
Succeeded by Adrian Fontes (Elect)
Personal details
Born Helen Purcell
Topeka, Kansas
Nationality American
Political party Republican
Residence Phoenix, Arizona
Occupation Real estate trust officer
Website Official website

Helen Purcell is the County Recorder for Maricopa County, Arizona. First elected in 1988, Purcell is a member of the Republican Party, and is serving her seventh term as County Recorder.

Purcell has 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]

Early career

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.

2016 election controversy

Arizona's Presidential Primary election saw historically long lines, with some voters waiting 6 hours to vote.[6] Purcell took much of the blame for the delay after receding 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 that 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]

Elections

"Purcell Principle"

Noted election Law professor Richard L. Hasen created the “Purcell principle” after the 2006 Supreme Court case Purcell v. Gonzalez. 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][18]

References

  1. ↑ "Arizona's primary was an utter disaster. But was it just a big mistake, or something more nefarious? - The Boston Globe".
  2. ↑ "Peoria council candidate left off ballot — again".
  3. ↑ "Roberts: Here we go again: Maricopa County errs on Spanish-language early ballots".
  4. ↑ "Recorder Helen Purcell squeaks to victory".
  5. ↑ http://www.12news.com/news/politics/helen-purcell-concedes-race-for-maricopa-county-recorder-to-adrian-fontes/352427559
  6. ↑ http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "Helen Purcell, Phoenix official, backtracks after blaming Arizona voters for lines".
  7. ↑ "Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell takes blame for voter lines, says she won't resign".
  8. ↑ "Petition to White House about Arizona 'voter suppression' hit goal in about 40 hours".
  9. ↑ Duda, Jeremy. "Raucous crowd calls for Purcell's resignation in wake of presidential primary fiasco – Arizona Capitol Times".
  10. ↑ TEGNA. "State Rep. calls for Maricopa County Recorder to resign".
  11. ↑ Lachman, Samantha; Reilly, Ryan J. (April 4, 2016). "The DOJ Is Investigating Arizona's Election Mess". The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Purcell Facing Defeat In Too-Close-To-Call GOP Maricopa Recorder Primary".
  13. ↑ "Election Results".
  14. ↑ http://recorder.maricopa.gov/electionarchives/2012/11-06-2012%20Final%20Summary%20Report.pdf
  15. ↑ http://recorder.maricopa.gov/electionarchives/2008/11-04-2008%20Final%20Summary%20Report.pdf
  16. ↑ http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/us/06a375.pdf
  17. ↑ http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/us/06a375.pdf
  18. ↑ Hasen, Richard L., Reining in the Purcell Principle (May 8, 2015). Florida State University Law Review, Vol.43, No. 2, 2016, pp.1-38; Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2545676

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.