Helen Purcell

Helen Purcell served seven terms as the County Recorder for Maricopa County, Arizona. First elected in 1988, Purcell is a member of the Republican Party, and served until 2017.

Helen Purcell
Maricopa County Recorder
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 1, 2017
Preceded byKeith Poletis
Succeeded byAdrian Fontes
Personal details
Born
Helen Purcell

Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
ResidencePhoenix, Arizona
OccupationReal estate trust officer

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.[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
See also: United States presidential election in Arizona, 2016 § Alleged voter suppression

Arizona's Presidential Primary election saw historically long lines, with some voters waiting six hours to vote.[6] After initially blaming voters for the long lines, Purcell took much of the blame for the delay after reducing 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 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
  • 2016 Purcell faced primary challenger Aaron Flannery, the results were too close to call on election night. Purcell won with 154,682 votes or 50.03% to Flannery's 154,497 votes or 49.97%, a margin of 185 votes.[12][13] She lost the general election to Democrat Adrian Fontes.
  • 2012 Purcell was unchallenged in the primary and general election.[14]
  • 2008 Purcell defeated Libertarian Ernest Hancock in the general election with 78.7% of the votes[15]
  • 2004 Purcell was unchallenged in the primary and general election.
  • 2000 Purcell was unchallenged in the primary and general election.

"Purcell principle"
Main article: Purcell principle

Professor of electoral law Richard L. Hasen created the "Purcell principle" after the 2006 Supreme Court case Purcell v. Gonzalez in which Purcell was sued in her official capacity. 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]

References
  1. Phillips, Amber (March 31, 2016). "Arizona's primary was an utter disaster. But was it just a big mistake, or something more nefarious?". The Boston Globe. Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  2. "Peoria council candidate left off ballot — again". Peoria council candidate left off ballot — again. August 6, 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  3. Roberts, Laurie (April 22, 2016). "Roberts: Here we go again: Maricopa County errs on Spanish-language early ballots". www.azcentral.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  4. "Recorder Helen Purcell squeaks to victory". www.azcentral.com. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  5. "Helen Purcell concedes race for Maricopa County recorder to Adrian Fontes". 12 News, KPNX. November 15, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-11-26. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  6. "Helen Purcell, Phoenix official, backtracks after blaming Arizona voters for lines". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  7. "Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell takes blame for voter lines, says she won't resign". Archived from the original on 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  8. "Petition to White House about Arizona 'voter suppression' hit goal in about 40 hours". Archived from the original on 2016-09-12.
  9. Duda, Jeremy (28 March 2016). "Raucous crowd calls for Purcell's resignation in wake of presidential primary fiasco". Arizona Capitol Times. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  10. TEGNA. "State Rep. calls for Maricopa County Recorder to resign". Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  11. Lachman, Samantha; Reilly, Ryan J. (April 4, 2016). "The DOJ Is Investigating Arizona's Election Mess". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  12. "Purcell Facing Defeat In Too-Close-To-Call GOP Maricopa Recorder Primary". 31 August 2016. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  13. "Election Results". Archived from the original on 2016-09-04. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  14. "November 6, 2012 Summary Report Maricopa County" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  15. "November 4, 2008 Summary Report Maricopa County" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  16. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2016-11-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. 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 Archived 2021-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
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