Maricopa County board votes to block ruling that stripped it of some election powers

PHOENIX — The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Wednesday to try to block a court order that would hand control of key election operations back to County Recorder Justin Heap.

The transfer, which includes computer systems, servers and IT staff, would come just weeks before voters head to the polls.

They voted to ask the judge to pause, or “stay,” that order and file an appeal if the stay is rejected.

If the judge agrees, the transfer of staff, equipment and election duties to Heap’s office would be put on hold. The delay could stretch through the July 21 primary and possibly beyond, leaving the board in control of the disputed responsibilities in the meantime.

The fight is over who runs critical pieces of the election for Maricopa County’s 4.5 million voters.

The recorder’s office traditionally oversees voter registration, early voting and mail ballots, while the board runs in-person voting on Election Day.

Under a last-minute agreement signed just before Heap took office, the board took over roughly a third of the recorder’s budget, all of his IT staff, his computer systems and some election duties. It was an arrangement a judge ruled last week was an illegal “usurpation of authority.”

Heap wants those resources back. The board says handing them over weeks before an election would be “disruptive and harmful.”

What the disagreement is about

Heap, who took office in January 2025, sued the board last June to undo an agreement his predecessor, Stephen Richer, signed about 10 days before Heap was sworn in.

Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney sided with Heap last week, ordering the board to return the IT systems, servers, staff and election duties.

Board Chair Kate Brophy McGee said the ruling is too muddled and comes too close to the election to implement safely.

“Judge Blaney’s ruling contradicts itself and injects uncertainty into the process just weeks before the upcoming elections,” she said in a statement. “As early voting begins this week for the May 19 jurisdictional elections, voters and election officials need clear guidance on how these elections are to be administered.”

Heap, appearing before the board Wednesday, argued the opposite, that the appeal itself is what will create chaos.

“For nearly a year and a half, this dispute has defined the administration of elections in Maricopa County. It has wasted time, resources and attention that could have been focused on better serving the voters,” he told the board. “Appealing this decision will only prolong the conflict indefinitely, waste taxpayer money and further erode the confidence of our voters in the system.”

A lone ‘no’ vote

Supervisor Mark Stewart, a Republican, cast the lone “no” vote and pushed his colleagues to try a different approach: go back to the judge and ask him to clarify the ruling rather than appeal it outright.

“I am 100% solution-focused,” Stewart said after the vote. “If we had the opportunity to go back and get some clarification from the judge, first, tighten up the language to give staff what they need in order to do their job.”

Stewart warned that the order’s language was too vague and could expose county staff to legal jeopardy.

“They could be held in contempt based on the way the current rule is written,” he said.

The vote came after a 2.5 hour discussion with the county board’s lawyer in executive session.

Lawmakers and advocates split over the fight

More than a dozen residents addressed the board before the vote, with opinions sharply divided.

Arizona Sen. Justine Wadsack urged the county supervisors to accept the judge’s ruling and move on.

“The people of Maricopa County elected Recorder Justin Heap to do this job, the full job,” said the Republican senator. “Let’s call this what it is: a delay, defiance of the ruling and most importantly, a disrespect for the voters of this county.”

Merissa Hamilton, chairwoman of the conservative civic engagement group EZAZ.org, criticized the board for pursuing the appeal and questioned how much taxpayer money had already been spent on the legal fight.

“How much have you already spent on the case so far, and how many work hours have been spent by the staff? … You are about to spend our tax dollars,” she said, criticizing the cost of the prolonged legal battle.

Former state Sen. Juan Mendez, a progressive Democrat, warned that handing control of the recorder’s office back to Heap would give him unchecked access to the personal data of millions of Maricopa County voters.

“Recently, the judge essentially ordered you to hand (Heap) the keys to the private information of 2.6 million voters. While he was in court claiming that he just wanted the tools to do his job, emails were privately promising full cooperation to the Department of Justice as he seeks to (redo) our past election and obtain your voter information,” said Mendez, citing a recent Votebeat investigation into emails between Heap and the Department of Justice.

Mendez urged the board to seek an immediate stay and pause the transfer until after the November general election.

“Do not let a technical courtroom (ruling) become a takeover for federal elections,” he said.

What happens next

The next move is up to Judge Blaney.

Heap warned this week that the uncertainty itself creates problems.

“Thus far they haven’t taken any actual action to give me the staff or the budget to be able to run those aspects of the law,” he told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show. “If this gets drawn out in court, we’re going to have to work out some arrangement for this election cycle, and I don’t want that confusion going into this election.”

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