Stephen Richer

Stephen Richer is the former elected Maricopa County Recorder, where he was responsible for voter registration, early voting administration, and public recordings in Maricopa County, Arizona, the fourth largest county in the United States.

In addition to his fellowship at the Ash Center, Stephen is an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, a legal scholar at the Cato Institute, and the CEO of Republic Affairs, a Washington DC-based solutions firm for civic nonprofits.

Stephen has appeared on, or written for, many major media outlets including The New York Times, 60 Minutes, The Washington Post, CNN, PBS, Fox News, and MS Now.  He is currently a political contributor and election analyst for NBC News, a columnist for The Arizona Republic, and a contributor at The Dispatch.

Stephen’s contributions to election administration and American governance have earned him a number of awards including, “Defender of Democracy” (TIME Magazine, 2024), “Leader of the Year” (Arizona Capitol Times, 2023), and “Arizonan of the Year” (The Arizona Republic, 2021).

Stephen received his J.D. and M.A. from The University of Chicago and his B.A. from Tulane University.