Helen Purcell

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.

{{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.{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/24/phoenix-official-backtracks-after-blaming-voters-f/|title=Helen Purcell, Phoenix official, backtracks after blaming Arizona voters for lines|newspaper=The Washington Times|publisher=|access-date=2016-08-31|archive-date=2016-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911023139/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/24/phoenix-official-backtracks-after-blaming-voters-f/|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/03/23/maricopa-county-recorder-helen-purcell-admits-fault-long-primary-lines/82165730/|title=Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell takes blame for voter lines, says she won't resign|publisher=|access-date=2016-08-31|archive-date=2021-12-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231044646/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/03/23/maricopa-county-recorder-helen-purcell-admits-fault-long-primary-lines/82165730/|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.12news.com/news/politics/petition-to-white-house-about-arizona-voter-suppression-hit-goal-in-about-40-hours/101986939|title=Petition to White House about Arizona 'voter suppression' hit goal in about 40 hours|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=|archive-date=2016-09-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912062820/http://www.12news.com/news/politics/petition-to-white-house-about-arizona-voter-suppression-hit-goal-in-about-40-hours/101986939|url-status=live}} Members of Arizona's House of Representatives called for Purcell to resign.{{cite web|url=http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/03/28/election-officials-admit-presidential-primary-mistakes/|title=Raucous crowd calls for Purcell's resignation in wake of presidential primary fiasco|first=Jeremy|last=Duda|date=28 March 2016|publisher=Arizona Capitol Times|access-date=31 August 2016|archive-date=21 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821053638/http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/03/28/election-officials-admit-presidential-primary-mistakes/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.12news.com/news/politics/state-rep-calls-for-maricopa-county-recorder-to-resign/98960658|title=State Rep. calls for Maricopa County Recorder to resign|last=TEGNA|publisher=|access-date=2016-08-31|archive-date=2016-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913162818/http://www.12news.com/news/politics/state-rep-calls-for-maricopa-county-recorder-to-resign/98960658|url-status=dead}}

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.{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/justice-department-arizona_us_5702b720e4b083f5c6085933|title=The DOJ Is Investigating Arizona's Election Mess|last1=Lachman|first1=Samantha|last2=Reilly|first2=Ryan J.|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=April 4, 2016|accessdate=April 4, 2016|archive-date=April 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408071943/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/justice-department-arizona_us_5702b720e4b083f5c6085933|url-status=live}}

• 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.{{cite web|url=http://kjzz.org/content/358304/purcell-facing-defeat-too-close-call-gop-maricopa-recorder-primary|title=Purcell Facing Defeat In Too-Close-To-Call GOP Maricopa Recorder Primary|date=31 August 2016|publisher=|access-date=1 September 2016|archive-date=3 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903154350/http://kjzz.org/content/358304/purcell-facing-defeat-too-close-call-gop-maricopa-recorder-primary|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://recorder.maricopa.gov/electionresults/eresults.aspx|title=Election Results|publisher=|access-date=2016-09-04|archive-date=2016-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904024144/http://recorder.maricopa.gov/electionresults/eresults.aspx|url-status=live}} She lost the general election to Democrat Adrian Fontes.
• 2012 Purcell was unchallenged in the primary and general election.{{cite web|url=http://recorder.maricopa.gov/electionarchives/2012/11-06-2012%20Final%20Summary%20Report.pdf|title=November 6, 2012 Summary Report Maricopa County|access-date=August 31, 2016|archive-date=September 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909220053/http://recorder.maricopa.gov/electionarchives/2012/11-06-2012%20Final%20Summary%20Report.pdf|url-status=live}}
• 2008 Purcell defeated Libertarian Ernest Hancock in the general election with 78.7% of the votes{{cite web|url=http://recorder.maricopa.gov/electionarchives/2008/11-04-2008%20Final%20Summary%20Report.pdf|title=November 4, 2008 Summary Report Maricopa County|access-date=August 31, 2016|archive-date=September 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910154845/http://recorder.maricopa.gov/electionarchives/2008/11-04-2008%20Final%20Summary%20Report.pdf|url-status=live}}
• 2004 Purcell was unchallenged in the primary and general election.
• 2000 Purcell was unchallenged in the primary and general election.

{{main|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.{{Cite web |url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/us/06a375.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-11-25 |archive-date=2014-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106225951/http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/us/06a375.pdf |url-status=live }}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 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231044649/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2545676 |date=2021-12-31 }}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://recorder.maricopa.gov/recorder/ Maricopa County Recorder]

{{Maricopa County, Arizona topics |state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Helen}}

Category:Living people

Category:County officials in Arizona

Category:Women in Arizona politics

Category:Arizona Republicans

Category:Politicians from Topeka, Kansas

Category:Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona

Category:Businesspeople from Phoenix, Arizona

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:21st-century American women politicians

Category:Government of Maricopa County, Arizona

Category:21st-century Arizona politicians