Pinal County, Arizona has announced that David Frisk, the Elections Director who oversaw the Primary Election disaster in Pinal County on Tuesday, is no longer employed, and Virginia Ross has resigned from her role as County Recorder.
Trump-Endorsed Republican nominee for Governor Kari Lake tweeted the update on Frisk’s nomination. She also asked,
If your right to vote was literally taken away, is this person’s resignation enough to remedy that?
How much bigger would our win be if all these people were allowed to vote?
🚨 PINAL COUNTY UPDATE
The Elections Director has officially resigned.
2 Questions: ⤵️
If your right to vote was literally taken away, is this person’s resignation enough to remedy that?
How much bigger would our win be if all these people were allowed to vote?
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) August 4, 2022
This is not enough.
We reported on the shortage of ballots in Pinal County and the disenfranchised voters who were literally turned away from the polls.
Pinal County released the following statement, announcing the resignation of County Recorder Virginia Ross and her appointment to the role of Elections Director, effective immediately.
In light of recent issues with Pinal County’s Primary Elections, the County can announce changes in the leadership of the Elections Department.
David Frisk is no longer in the position of Elections Director and is no longer employed by Pinal County.
As a result of discussions with the Board of Supervisors and County Leadership, and in order to restore confidence for voters in the November Election, Recorder Virginia Ross has resigned from her elected office and has been appointed Elections Director effective immediately. Ross is an experienced and highly-respected professional, who, prior to being elected as the Recorder in 2012, enjoyed a progressive career in the private sector for Fortune 100 and 500 corporations Ryder System, Inc. and IBM as a certified Project Manager, Telecommunications Manager, and Senior Contract Negotiator.
Despite rumors to the contrary, Ross did not oversee the Elections Department for this primary election in her role as the County Recorder. Ross was in charge of Pinal County Elections in her first term in 2014 and 2016, but with the growth of Pinal County, and as a result, an increase in Recorder responsibilities, an Elections Director was brought in to oversee the Elections Department from 2017. Since that time, the Elections Department has reported to County Management, which is overseen by the Board of Supervisors.
The Board of Supervisors will hold a Special Session Meeting in Florence on Friday at 11.15 am to appoint a Recorder to see out the remainder of Ms. Ross’s term, which runs through December 31, 2024.
“As a Board, we are deeply embarrassed and frustrated by the mistakes that have been made in this primary election, and as such, we are taking immediate steps to ensure the November election runs smoothly, as elections in Pinal County have historically done prior to this primary,” said Jeffrey McClure, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
McClure continued, “It is vital that we restore trust with Pinal County voters, and I can assure the community that there is no better leader to take control of our Elections Department than Virginia Ross. As a fellow elected official, I am grateful to Virginia for sacrificing her elected role to answer the needs of Pinal County.”
Virginia Ross commented, “Having been the Recorder for Pinal County since 2013, this primary election has been a stinging experience for us all. I look forward to involving all stakeholders in Pinal County as we work together to finish this primary election, before immediately turning our attention to the November election.”
Ross continued, “I also want to take this opportunity to publicly thank my staff in the Recorder’s Office, who have provided me such stellar support since I took office in 2013.”
Officials from Pinal County recently blamed Katie Hobbs for the massive error.
Pinal County shifting some blame for running out of ballots to Secretary of State @KatieHobbs' office
Official says formulas for how many ballots to order came from Hobbs' office
Hobbs is failing at her current job…How can she ask anyone to give her a promotion to #AZGOV? https://t.co/tc8EsOjLYw pic.twitter.com/om2JeJlRYb
— Republican Party of Arizona (@AZGOP) August 3, 2022
Katie Hobbs was at her election watch party instead of doing her job as Secretary of State to fix these issues.
When asked about the issues in Pinal County at her party on election night, Hobbs squirmed and lied, saying that she did her job right.
Want to watch a Career Politician squirm? Check out what happens when @KatieHobbs is asked about Pinal Co not having enough ballots for people to cast a vote.
Consultant-written talking points.
Nothing more.We’re going to beat her like a drum in November. #Karizona #AZgov pic.twitter.com/Q15SioAM99
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) August 4, 2022
This is on Katie Hobbs’ hands.
Hobbs will also try to steal the General Election from Kari Lake.
She needs to resign from her role as Secretary of State immediately.
Maricopa County is still counting the ballots, and they have not updated the count since 7:03 pm last night.
We also reported that some Maricopa County voters are reporting their vote did not count, and they are not showing up as having cast a ballot in the 2022 Primary.
Kari Lake said that Patriots in Arizona “completely overwhelmed the system,” asking, “is this why they are dragging their feet?”
https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1555214960434692096
This is unacceptable. We cannot trust these incompetent election officials to run a clean election.
