Preceded by Keith Poletis Full Name Helen Purcell Political party Republican Party Republican Party | Succeeded by Adrian Fontes Nationality American Website Official website | |
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Occupation Real estate trust officer Residence Phoenix, Arizona, United States | ||
Raw interview helen purcell
Helen Purcell served as the County Recorder for Maricopa County, Arizona and served 7 terms. First elected in 1988, Purcell is a member of the Republican Party, and served until 2017
Contents
- Raw interview helen purcell
- Helen purcell answers questions about election day lines
- Early career
- 2016 election controversy
- Elections
- Purcell Principle
- References
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. Purcell also received criticism from a 2014 incident where a candidate was left off the ballot. 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.
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.
Helen purcell answers questions about election day lines
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. 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.
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. Members of Arizona's House of Representatives called for Purcell to resign.
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.
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.