Who Owns Runbeck Election Services

Runbeck Election Services (RES) is a for-profit election company based in Phoenix, Arizona, that primarily produces and distributes ballot papers. As of 2020, RES had 180 full-time workers and 200 seasonal workers and can create as many as two million ballot papers per day. 1

After the 2022 election, RES was embroiled in controversies and the subject of many conspiracy theories regarding alleged ballot-box stuffing in Maricopa County, Arizona. According to mainstream media sources, claims against RES are baseless. 2 3

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History

Runbeck Election Services was founded in 1972 in Phoenix, Arizona. For a decade, it operated as a small printing company supplying local businesses and municipal elections. In the 1980s, Kevin Runbeck, who previously bought and flipped houses, bought RES from his father. With population growth in Arizona, more of RES’s business came from elections over time. In 1991, a requirement for voters to give a specific reason to receive a mail-in ballot was removed, prompting a boom in business for RES. 4 5

In the mid-2000s, RES was contracted to process all ballots for Maricopa County, the most-populous county in Arizona and one of the most-populous counties in the United States. 6

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The 2020 elections were RES’s busiest to date. The company sent out ballots for every county in Georgia, as well as counties in seven other states. 7 RES estimated that it would mail 40 to 50 million pieces and print 80 to 100 million total pieces. 8

Leadership

Kevin Runbeck acquired Runbeck Election Services in the 1980s. He served as chief executive officer of the company from the acquisition until 2021, when he relinquished the role to Jeff Ellington. Runbeck remains chairman of the board. 9

According to RES’s website, Runbeck made a “personal decision” to not donate to any political candidates or PACs, with a few exceptions. Runbeck has made numerous donations to the Printing Industries of America, amounting to $14,500 from 2004 to 2018. The RES website also says he donated to the “Arizona candidate for President in 2008,” presumably then-U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), though a Federal Election Commission search does not show this donation. 10 11

2014 Printing Errors

During the 2014 election, Maricopa County sent 618 ballot papers with incorrect return mailing addresses that would have invalidated the ballots. Maricopa County attributed the error to a “glitch” by Runbeck Election Services, though RES spotted the error. RES incurred the costs of resending the ballot papers. 12

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During the same election, an Arizona municipality sent out 8,500 early-voting ballots without the name of city council candidate Ken Krieger. The city sent out the ballots again one week later, and Krieger’s name was still erroneously absent. The error on the second ballot was attributed to RES, which paid the $15,000 cost incurred by the third reprint. 13

2022 Election

During the 2022 election, Runbeck Election Services was the subject of conspiracy theories alleging election fraud in Maricopa County. A viral video claimed to show Maricopa County election officials breaking the chain-of-custody for cast ballots between collection sites and counting sites at an RES facility. The legal team of unsuccessful Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake claimed that RES staff had improperly inserted their own and their family members’ ballots at counting sites instead of through ballot-casting channels; a Maricopa County official said that he had not authorized such activity and was not aware of it having happened. 14 15

According to RES, ballots are transferred to its office to create digital images of all unopened ballots as a security measure, and the process is conducted by both RES and Maricopa County personnel. The Maricopa County Republican Party confirmed that Republican scrutineers were present at RES on election day. 16

RES’s $850,000 contract with El Paso County, Colorado, was complicated because Colorado Springs city councilor Wayne Williams (R) was a part-time consultant to RES and the husband of El Paso county commissioner Holly Williams (R). Despite ample questioning from political opponents during town-hall meetings, the RES contract was renewed. 17

1. Oxford, Andrew. “They’re printing ballots: Arizona business kicks into high gear as election season begins.” AZ Central. September 28, 2020. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2020/09/28/runbeck-election-services-prints-ballots-every-election-season/3523196001/
2. Kochi, Sudiksha. “Fact check: Chain of custody for Maricopa County ballots was secure.” USA Today. December 9, 2022. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/12/09/fact-check-chain-custody-ballots-secure-maricopa-county/10793380002/.
3. Bradner, Eric. “Maricopa County elections officials push back on Lake’s fraud claims as trial ends.” WRAL News. December 22, 2022. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.wral.com/maricopa-county-elections-officials-push-back-on-lakes-fraud-claims-as-trial-ends/20641315/
4. “Our Executive Team.” Runbeck Election Services. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://runbeck.net/about/our-executive-team/.
5. Oxford, Andrew. “They’re printing ballots: Arizona business kicks into high gear as election season begins.” AZ Central. September 28, 2020. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2020/09/28/runbeck-election-services-prints-ballots-every-election-season/3523196001/.
6. [1] Oxford, Andrew. “They’re printing ballots: Arizona business kicks into high gear as election season begins.” AZ Central. September 28, 2020. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2020/09/28/runbeck-election-services-prints-ballots-every-election-season/3523196001/.
7. Lapowsky, Issie. “People want to vote by mail. The tech they need to do it can’t keep up.” Protocol. September 29, 2020. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.protocol.com/mail-in-voting-technology.
8. Fessler, Pam. “Ballot Printers Increase Capacity To Prepare For Mail Voting Surge.” Northwest Public Broadcasting. May 4, 2020. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.nwpb.org/2020/05/04/ballot-printers-increase-capacity-to-prepare-for-mail-voting-surge/.
9. “Runbeck Election Services Names New CEO.” Printing Impressions. February 5, 2021. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.piworld.com/article/runbeck-election-services-names-new-ceo/.
10. [1] “Claims vs Facts.” Runbeck Election Services. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://runbeck.net/about/claims-vs-facts/
11. “Federal Election Commission search: Kevin Runbeck.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Kevin+Runbeck+.
12. Pitzl, Mary Jo. “Maricopa County sending replacement ballots to 618 voters after error.” AZ Central. October 20, 2014. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2014/10/21/maricopa-county-ballot-mailing-error/17649675/.
13. [1] Coe, Jackee. “Peoria council candidate left off ballot – again.” AZ Central. August 6, 2014. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/peoria/2014/08/06/peoria-council-candidate-left-off-ballot-again/13705217/
14. [1] Bradner, Eric. “Maricopa County elections officials push back on Lake’s fraud claims as trial ends.” WRAL News. December 22, 2022. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.wral.com/maricopa-county-elections-officials-push-back-on-lakes-fraud-claims-as-trial-ends/20641315/.
15. Kochi, Sudiksha. “Fact check: Chain of custody for Maricopa County ballots was secure.” USA Today. December 9, 2022. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/12/09/fact-check-chain-custody-ballots-secure-maricopa-county/10793380002/.
16. Kochi, Sudiksha. “Fact check: Chain of custody for Maricopa County ballots was secure.” USA Today. December 9, 2022. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/12/09/fact-check-chain-custody-ballots-secure-maricopa-county/10793380002/.
17. Beedle, Heidi. “Contract for Election Ballots Stirs More Controversy In El Paso County.” Colorado Times Recorder. April 6, 2022. Accessed January 19, 2023. https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2022/04/contract-for-election-ballots-stirs-more-controversy-in-el-paso-county/44683/.

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