Jeff Ellington is the president and chief executive officer of Runbeck Election Services, an Arizona provider of ballot printing, mailing and election technology. He joined Runbeck in 2011, became chief operating officer in 2015 and president in 2016, and became chief executive in 2021.
Case
Donald Trump rejects the explanation of a premature Maricopa County ballot mailing as an error. Runbeck's CEO denies intentional misconduct, while other officials and commentators dispute the incident's meaning and consequences.
Role at the time: Runbeck Election Services president and CEO
Response to this claim
The early ballot release resulted from an accidental mailing error, not intentional misconduct.
“It was pure accident, just a human error ... We regret it. But it was by no means intentional.”
The reference point is the claim that the early ballot mailing was deliberate misconduct. Ellington calls the release a "human error" and says it was "by no means intentional", which expressly rejects the claim. The closest competing label, Challenged the characterization, loses because he says the alleged intent did not exist rather than only disputing a description.
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
Statement dates: October 5, 2026
