Maricopa County recorder appears under oath before Board of Supervisors

PHOENIX – Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap appeared under oath before the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, providing a report about a variety of election-related topics and answering questions.

After being sworn in, Heap was given 10 minutes to go over his office’s report on financial records, signature verification and other concerns raised by the board. He also submitted thousands of documents related to the board’s request.

The first question to Heap after he recapped his report was about allegations of voter disenfranchisement that his chief of staff, Sam Stone, made during a Jan. 26 court hearing.

“Are we disenfranchising voters now, as your chief of staff said in court under sworn oath, or are we not?” Supervisor Debbie Lesko asked. “Because it’s important, because if we are, then we need to try to fix it.”

Recorder Justin Heap addresses voter disenfranchisement concerns

Heap said he couldn’t speak for Stone, who has his own counsel. He then explained that Stone’s comments were made in regard to the Recorder’s Office’s request to buy an Agilis machine to efficiently sort large batches of provisional ballots.

NOW: Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap giving sworn testimony to the county board of supervisors.

This after a year-long+ battle, the board saying Heap failed to communicate how his office is running elections, Heap arguing the board unlawfully stripped his office of powers. pic.twitter.com/ndlYj1jQD5

— Balin Overstolz (@balin_om) February 18, 2026

“I have spoken to our staff. I have not seen evidence that the lack of an Agilis machine has thus far this year caused this,” Heap said in response to Lesko’s question about disenfranchisement.

Lesko then asked Heap to see that the court record was corrected regarding the disenfranchisement allegations before looking up Stone’s testimony.

After she pulled up the testimony on her laptop, she noted that Stone was talking about whether there was space for the machine.

She went on to read back Stone’s words from a court transcript: “We had two potential places. We would have made the substantial changes to one or the other to bring this in to not disenfranchise voters, which is happening now.”

Maricopa County recorder, board engaged in legal battle

Wednesday’s livestreamed special meeting was the latest development in the ongoing battle between Heap and the board over a Shared Services Agreement (SSA) that covers how election duties are split up.

Election duties are split between county supervisors and recorders under state law, but Heap and the Maricopa County board have been unable to settle their differences about certain aspects of the SSA since he took office in January 2025.

Heap filed a lawsuit in June 2025, accusing the five-member elected board of overstepping its authority in its SSA proposal.

After Wednesday’s meeting, Heap said a court ruling was a few weeks away and expressed confidence he would prevail.

“As long as one of the parties says we can take over any of the duties from the other if we choose, we’re not having a real negotiation,” he told reporters. “And even if we can reach some sort of temporary settlement, what happens if it breaks down next year and the board still believes that they can then take back those duties we agreed on? So, I think we need clarification from the court on this issue.”

The five-member board that governs metro Phoenix voted 5-0 last week to require Heap to testify in person and under oath. Four of the board’s five members are Republicans, as is Heap.

Leading up to the hearing, board Chair Kate Brophy McGee said the supervisors needed to hear from Heap as they make budgeting and policy decisions related to Maricopa County’s upcoming elections. She also wanted to learn more about allegations of voter disenfranchisement from Heap’s staff.

The agenda item for the hearing motion cited Arizona Revised Statute § 11-253(a), which covers the board’s authority to remove a county officer who refuses to report to it under oath. The statute prompted speculation that the board could be moving to remove Heap.

Maricopa County supervisor calls Justin Heap ‘evasive’

After Heap gave his report Wednesday, Republican Supervisor Mark Stewart, who participated remotely, proposed a motion saying Heap “fulfilled his official duties as regards to the request” for him to testify and “no action can be taken further.” The motion died when no other supervisor seconded it. At his request, Stewart has legal counsel for the lawsuit separate from the other supervisors.

After the meeting, Republican Supervisor Thomas Galvin said he “absolutely” was not satisfied with Heap’s testimony.

“I think today … we showed we’re the adults in the room. We’re trying to have a good election get pulled off this July and this November. Frankly, he was evasive in his answers,” Galvin said.

Wednesday’s meeting business ended with the board voting 5-0 in favor of a resolution declaring its policy position in the absence of a detailed, negotiated agreement with Heap.

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