“Not a Glitch — A Crime”: Gillette Unloads on Arizona Voter System, Points to Richer Email and Sends Federal Criminal Referral
Lawmakers hear allegations of non-resident voters, dead registrants, NGO registrations, and conflicting data between counties and the Secretary of State.
Arizona Rep. John Gillette (R-Kingman) dropped a political grenade during a legislative hearing this week, presenting what he called years of evidence showing serious irregularities in Arizona’s voter registration system — and announcing a criminal referral to the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security.
Gillette did not mince words.
“These are not glitches,” he told lawmakers.
“These are on purpose.”
The presentation centered on what Gillette described as an investigative referral packet documenting voter registration anomalies from March 2023 to present. The packet includes records tied to the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division, ServiceArizona, county recorders, the Secretary of State’s office, and voter registrations linked to public assistance systems.
Because the records contain voter information, the packet distributed to legislators was heavily redacted. The referral sent to federal investigators will not be.
“The referral packet that goes to the Department of Justice will have unredacted information in it,” Gillette said.
The Richer Email
One of the most controversial moments of the hearing involved an email from former Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer.
The email was sent to county recorders after Gillette issued a public records request asking counties to investigate voter party registration changes tied to a Secretary of State system issue.
In the message, Richer wrote:
“I think you’ve all received a copy of the attached letter from Representative Gillette… This pertains to Arizona MVD voter registration items that the Secretary of State wrote to us about previously.”
Richer added that he had spoken with Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) and suggested counties respond with a coordinated explanation.
“I spoke with Secretary Fontes on Monday… I would like to send back a letter that describes the situation… then if Representative Gillette still needs more information, the counties can share.”
Gillette said the email raised immediate red flags.
“There is no reason that an elected recorder should reach out to all the other recorders,” he said.
“Why would that happen if you’re not trying to hide something?”
Later he was even more direct.
“Stephen Richer telling recorders not to comply with the legislative public records request — that is not a glitch.
That’s on purpose.”
The issue is now reportedly being reviewed as part of the federal referral.
Examples Presented to Lawmakers
Gillette then walked the committee through a series of examples he said demonstrate systemic vulnerabilities in Arizona’s voter registration pipeline.
Among the cases he presented:
• A Nevada resident who Gillette said was automatically registered to vote in Arizona after a ServiceArizona vehicle registration transaction.
“He is not a resident of the state of Arizona,” Gillette said.
“He was automatically registered to vote in the state of Arizona as a non-resident.”
• A California couple who allegedly remained registered to vote in Arizona after moving away years earlier.
• A deceased individual who died in Nevada but remained on Arizona’s voter rolls until a county recorder confirmed the death.
• An individual who Gillette said had never lived in Arizona but was registered after an interaction with an NGO following a DUI arrest in the state.
“That NGO registered him to vote in the state of Arizona,” Gillette alleged.
• Landowners who purchased vacant property in Arizona but lived in California and allegedly became registered after vehicle registrations were processed.
“They had never lived in the state of Arizona,” Gillette said.
“The Numbers Don’t Match”
Gillette also pointed to discrepancies between numbers reported by counties and numbers reported by the Secretary of State’s office regarding voter party changes tied to a system issue.
According to Gillette:
• Coconino County reported 1,412 changes.
• Yavapai County reported zero.
However, he said the Secretary of State later reported different numbers entirely.
“This is prime evidence that the recorders’ numbers and the Secretary’s numbers do not match,” Gillette said.
He argued the mismatch could violate federal requirements for maintaining accurate and centralized voter lists.
“That is not a glitch,” he added.
“That’s a federal crime.”
NGOs, Vendors and Kiosks
Gillette also raised concerns about third-party motor vehicle vendors, NGOs, and voter registration kiosks, which he said may be feeding improper registrations into the system.
He cited conversations with former MVD Director Eric Jorgensen, who Gillette said began investigating third-party vendors before leaving his position.
“He started going after the third-party vendors,” Gillette said.
“The kiosks you see in the street, the homeless centers, the third-party vendors all over the place where you can get a driver’s license or ID — this is where it’s happening folks.”
Gillette suggested Jorgensen’s investigation may have been halted once it began affecting voter roll numbers.
“When I called him in November, he said there were complications,” Gillette said.
“I firmly believe those complications were he was told to stop — because we’re losing too many people on the voter rolls.”
Federal Investigation Requested
Gillette said the evidence compiled by his office will now be forwarded to federal investigators.
The referral cites potential violations of federal statutes involving election integrity, fraud, false statements, and computer systems tied to election infrastructure.
“This will go forward today,” Gillette told the committee.
Not every lawmaker signed onto the referral. All Dems declined, while Republicans agreed to attach their names.
But Gillette’s message to the committee and to the public was unmistakable.
“These are not glitches,” he said again.
“These are crimes.”