Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell staying close to challenger
Nov 9, 2016, 8:14 AM | Updated: 11:24 am
(AP Photo/Ryan VanVelzer, File)
(AP Photo/Ryan VanVelzer, File)
PHOENIX — Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell was in another fight to keep her job, this time from challenger Adrian Fontes the morning after the 2016 general election in Arizona.
The Republican incumbent trailed Fontes by a slim margin early Wednesday morning. Fontes, a Democrat, led with 50 percent of the vote to 49 percent for Purcell.
It’s the second consecutive serious threat to Purcell’s job, who raised voters’ ire after they faced long wait times to vote in the spring presidential preference election.
She then struggled to capture her party’s nomination in the August primary.
The longtime county elections boss been in office since 1988.
The secretary of state’s office launched an investigation into the voting-sites fiasco, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton demanded a federal investigation and the Democractic Party sued.
The latter two said the excessive wait times unfairly targeted minorities.
The Justice Department also looked into the turmoil.
