Who Is Jennifer Wright?

My VIP for this week is Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright. According to Joseph MacKinnon, Wright wants answers to why the 2022 general election in Maricopa County was bungled so badly. The Attorney General Office (AGO) sent a letter to the Maricopa County attorney’s office on Saturday questioning why voters had so many problems with ballot tabulators and ballot-on-demand printers – not to mention potential election law violations.

Wright’s letter was sent just one day after the board of Arizona’s Cochise County delayed certifying the election results. Wright’s November 19 letter to the Maricopa County attorney’s office “noted that the AGO’s Election Integrity Unit has received ‘hundreds of complaints … pertaining to issues related to the administration of the 2022 General Election in Maricopa County.’” The letter continued, “These complaints go beyond pure speculation, but include first-hand witness accounts that raise concerns regarding Maricopa’s lawful compliance with Arizona election law.”

On the basis of these complaints and the problematic administration of the election, Wright underscored how Arizonans “deserve a full report and accounting of the myriad problems” that occurred in Maricopa County on Election Day.

In addition to voters’ complaints, Wright indicated there was additional cause for concern, given that “statements made by both Chairman Gates and Recorder Richer, along with information Maricopa County released through official modes of communication appear to confirm potential statutory violations of [Arizona election law].”

Wright’s letter, as noted in MacKinnon’s article, contained more information about why she invoked Arizona Revised Statutes Section 16-1021. She was particularly concerned about printer problems and check-out problems.