Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, supervisors clash over ballot scanner investigation

Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap filed an emergency motion Monday seeking court intervention after two of his employees were informed they were under investigation for moving a voting scanner during a Tempe election in March and potentially compromising it.

According to the motion, a Pinal County Sheriff’s Office deputy showed up to Maricopa County Recorder’s Office Chief Information Officer Bryan Colby’s house Saturday and informed him that he was being investigated for the theft of a pre-tabulation scanner. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office clarified that it is not involved in the case, but it confirmed that one its off-duty reserve deputies was hired to help with the investigation.

BREAKING: Recorder Seeks Emergency Court Intervention After Board Targets Election Workers with Criminal Investigations

Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap has filed an emergency motion with the Superior Court after armed sheriff’s deputies appeared at the homes of multiple… pic.twitter.com/Xn7bKX4HOj

— Maricopa County Recorder's Office (@RecordersOffice) June 8, 2026

This is the latest of an ongoing string of legal battles between Heap and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, whom the recorder blamed last week for any confusion surrounding the upcoming election season.

Heap wants a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to order the board to return the disputed equipment, stop retaliatory actions against his employees and ensure compliance with previous court orders.

“This is not the first time the board has made reckless and false accusations against employees of the Recorder’s Office,” he said in a press release. “Over the past year, multiple members of my senior staff have been forced to obtain outside legal counsel to defend themselves against baseless allegations and personal attacks. Members of this office have been threatened, doxed and falsely accused in repeated attempts to intimidate them for simply doing their jobs.”

In a joint statement reacting to Heap’s motion, Board of Supervisors Chair Kate Brophy McGee and Vice Chair Debbie Lesko said the Maricopa County Human Resources Department launched an investigation after Colby and another employee were seen on security cameras putting equipment in an unmarked truck and driving off from the Maricopa County Tabulation & Election Center in Phoenix on March 12 during the Tempe City Council election.

STATEMENT: Chair @KateMcGeeAZ and Vice Chair @DebbieLesko respond to Recorder’s latest court filing. pic.twitter.com/vPUVfxOAhE

— Maricopa County (@maricopacounty) June 8, 2026

Brophy McGee and Lesko said the equipment was returned 50 minutes later after the county election director notified recorder’s office leadership about the removal. The board leaders were unable to determine what was done to the equipment, other than that it was taken to the recorder’s office executive offices.

Lesko and McGee said the board paid approximately $70,000 to replace the scanner, which could have been compromised after it was taken from the tabulation center.

Additionally, the chair and vice chair alleged that Colby also removed what appeared to be a handful of provisional ballot affidavit envelopes, which could have possibly contained live ballots. However, a count the following day showed no irregularities and that all ballots and envelopes were accounted for.

After the human resources investigation was complete, county leadership shared the findings with the recorder’s office and referred it to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, which assigned a special prosecutor to determine if any criminal activity occurred. The special prosecutor’s investigation is ongoing.

Justin Heap says alleged scanner belongs to recorder’s office

The two sides dispute whether the scanner is controlled by the recorder’s office or the board-run elections department.

Heap argued that the scanner was purchased using funds from his office and hence is under his supervision, not the board’s. Chief Deputy Recorder Jeff Mason filed a court declaration stating that the recorder’s office never transferred ownership of the device to the elections department.

Lesko and McGee disputed the ownership claim in their joint statement, citing the findings of the human resources investigation.

“The HR report independently substantiated the incident and confirmed the CIO [Colby] had been notified on at least one occasion, in an inter-office message on March 5, that the scanner was controlled by the Board’s Elections Department,” they said.

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