Recorder Justin Heap responds to Donald Trump calling Maricopa County ‘very dishonest’

Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap responded Friday to President Donald Trump calling Maricopa County “very dishonest” earlier this month.

Trump criticized elections in Maricopa County on Oct. 5 after vendor Runbeck Election Services erroneously delivered more than 3,000 early ballots to the post office six days early.

When a reporter asked Trump about the early mailing, he rejected the explanation that it was an error.

“There were no errors,” Trump said. “Maricopa sent out thousands of ballots illegally, and they got caught! And now they’re saying it was an error. Maricopa is a very, very dishonest county.”

The recorder’s office said it did not authorize the early mailing and that the correct ballots went to the voters who had requested them.

What did Recorder Justin Heap say about Donald Trump’s comments?

Heap, a Republican whose office is responsible for mail voting in the Phoenix area, was asked about Trump’s comments during an interview with KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show.

“Love him or hate him, President Trump shoots from the hip. … And looking at the actual video, this is a reporter shouting questions at him, ‘Did you hear something, did you hear Maricopa County is mailing out early ballots?’ And he made an off-the-cuff statement,” Heap said.

Trump has repeatedly criticized elections in Maricopa County since losing the county and Arizona to Joe Biden in 2020.

“It doesn’t really affect our operations in any way,” Heap said of Trump’s response. “So, I think we can just move forward.”

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