Arizona Official Shuts Down Right-Winger Over Clueless Mail-In Voting Claim
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer pushed back at a conservative Wednesday after she questioned mail-in voting in Arizona ahead of the state’s primaries next month.
Aubrey Savela, who identifies as a field representative for the right-wing nonprofit Turning Point Action, took to X where she shared a photo of two mail-in ballots along with two early voting packets.
“Maricopa county at its finest… My first time ever voting in a presidential preference election and I received not one but two mail-in ballots 🫣 Thank you @stephen_richer,” Savela wrote.
Richer, a top Republican election official in Arizona who sued GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake for defamation last year, swiftly shut down Savela for seemingly making a suggestion about election fraud in the county by pointing out that she recently updated the address on her voter registration.
“Because early ballots must go out on Feb. 21, your Chandler ballot was already set to go out, and so it did,” Richer explained.
Richer, who said he’s been hit with death threats and faced conspiracy theories about elections in Maricopa County, also noted that the packets have codes that end in different numbers, including a code for Savela’s old address and another for her new one.
“Meaning even if you sent it back, it wouldn’t proceed to signature verification, and it wouldn’t be opened. That’s how we prevent people from voting twice,” he wrote.
“So just use the one with your new address ending in 02 ― that’s the only one that will work. Hope this helps! Have a great night! Happy voting!”
He later shared a post from another social media user who called him “an assassin” over the reply and joked that she’d hire him to “tweet all [her] ex boyfriends.”
Hi Aubrey!
Thanks for reaching out.
You changed your voter registration on the last day of voter registration (Feb. 20) from your Chandler address to your new Tempe address.
Because early ballots must go out on Feb. 21, your Chandler ballot was already set to go out, and…— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) February 29, 2024
