Maricopa County recorder asks judge to stop Board of Supervisors’ election system audit

PHOENIX — Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap is asking a judge to stop an audit of the county’s election system after it was authorized by the Board of Supervisors.

It’s the latest twist in an intraparty power struggle that dates back to before Heap, a Republican, took office in January.

The Board of Supervisors, a five-member elected panel led by four Republicans, has been planning to contract a third-party vendor to conduct a systemwide assessment of election infrastructure.

However, Heap believes the board is overstepping its authority and filed a request for a temporary restraining order to stop the audit last week.

The judge responded to the filing on Friday by setting an evidentiary hearing where each side will have 45 minutes to make its case. The hearing initially was set for Nov. 6 but was moved up to Nov. 3.

Audit dispute is part of a larger conflict between board and recorder

The dispute over the audit stems from an ongoing battle between the first-year recorder and the board. Heap ousted incumbent Stephen Richer in the GOP primary before winning the general election.

“The previous recorder and the previous board signed an agreement which transferred most of the recorder’s duties over to the control of the board, along with the entire voter database, the software, the systems, the servers,” Heap told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Monday. “So, all of that has been under the board’s control since I took office.”

Heap has argued that the deal the board made with Richer shouldn’t apply to him.

“We are operating now with no agreement and no clear lines on who runs each thing. And if we don’t have an agreement, then we go back to Arizona law, which ultimately is what I’m asking for,” he said.

“The issue is the board is holding onto many powers and authorities that are not supported by Arizona law. So we are trying to bring that back in.”

When it comes to the audit, Heap said he wasn’t involved in the process to select a vendor and has concerns about giving third-party auditors access to sensitive information about Maricopa County’s 2.6 million registered voters.

“The recorder is responsible for those voter rolls,” he said. “I’m responsible for protecting the voter data that is in those, and it is inappropriate for the board to come in and bring a contractor that we’re not involved with to come audit the systems while they’re in the board’s control.”

How did board react to recorder’s legal maneuver?

In a statement issued after Heap filed his request for a temporary restraining order, Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin accused the recorder of playing “games with the court system, with disregard to voters and taxpayers’ money.”

Galvin said Heap previously requested the type of audit the board is seeking and was aware of its scope months ago.

“The board has always intended to hire an independent, third-party vendor to perform a systemwide assessment to honor the best interest of Maricopa County’s voters,” Galvin said in the statement. “The board’s plan calls for a reputable, experienced, professional vendor to access and analyze the county’s data, systems, software, security and credentials and additionally adheres strictly to confidentiality.”

During his campaign last year, Heap was critical of the way elections were run in Maricopa County and vowed to restore faith in the system.

He said the board’s actions, including ordering what could be a lengthy audit that ties up IT staff, are interfering with his ability to do his job.

“For functions that are mine, such as voter registration and the database, the IT staff that controls that works for the board,” he explained. “So, there’s nothing that I can do to deliver on my campaign promises without the board allowing me to do so. And so, the concern here is that they are hamstringing my ability to change something in order for the board to maintain their control of the system.”

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