Maricopa Recorder warns election workers could face felony charges over drop boxes

The feud between the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and County Recorder Justin Heap escalated Wednesday, with the board accusing Heap of obstructing election preparations and Heap accusing the Board of staging “political theater.”

At the center of the dispute: a board resolution covering election day voting sites, emergency voting locations and ballot drop boxes for the 2026 election cycle.

What did the recorder claim?

Hours before the board’s afternoon meeting, Heap’s attorney, James Rogers, sent a letter warning that election workers who collect ballots from drop boxes not authorized by the recorder could face felony charges under Arizona’s ballot harvesting statute.

Rogers, who serves as senior counsel at the America First Legal Foundation, argued that Arizona’s election statutes vest the county recorder, and only the county recorder, with the power to establish early voting locations, making any drop boxes set up by the board during the early voting period unlawful.

He urged the board to strip the drop box provision from its resolution.

At a meeting, the board responds to Heap’s letter

Board Chair Kate Brophy McGee said she called and emailed Heap around noon asking him to appear at the 1 p.m. meeting to discuss the letter. Heap, whose office is located in the same building a few floors above the board’s chambers, declined to attend.

“It sounds like the lawyer in this letter is threatening to criminally charge temporary election workers for merely doing their duty,” Vice Chair Debbie Lesko said at the meeting.

Supervisor Thomas Galvin called the felony threat unprecedented.

 

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“This is the first time that I can recall of our own employees and volunteers being threatened with criminal penalties,” Galvin said. “This is shocking and appalling.”

Supervisor Steve Gallardo called Heap a coward.

“We have a county recorder who is totally out of touch with his office,” Gallardo said. “ He wants the 2026 election to fail, and he’s doing everything he can to do it.”

Lone supervisor tries to act as mediator

Supervisor Mark Stewart, who has retained his own attorney in the dispute, faulted both sides and said he spoke with Heap the night before.

“He just wants to be able to have some say and approval in where the early voting locations go,” Stewart said. “All of that could have been solved with a simple phone call.”

Heap responds

In a statement issued Wednesday, Heap defended his decision not to appear and accused the board of attempting to “seize control over ballot drop boxes.”

He said his office was not consulted on the proposed drop box locations and learned of them only after the board posted its agenda the day before.

“The recorder remains willing to meet in a properly noticed setting and resolve these issues professionally and cooperatively if the board is willing to do the same,” the statement read.

The yearlong election dispute between Heap and board supervisors

Wednesday’s clash is the latest flare-up in a legal battle that’s been brewing for nearly a year.

Heap, a Republican, sued the GOP-controlled board in June 2025 over election responsibilities, arguing that supervisors had stripped his office of funding, IT staff and key duties, including managing ballot drop boxes and establishing early voting sites, through an agreement negotiated with his predecessor, Stephen Richer.

In April, Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ruled mostly in Heap’s favor, ordering the board to return IT staff, servers and equipment to the recorder’s office and barring supervisors from taking over functions assigned to the recorder under state law.

The board is still planning an appeal after a judge rejected a requested stay and Supervisor Stewart’s request for mediation earlier this month.

The midterm primary elections are July 21.

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