Arizona Supreme Court sides with Recorder Justin Heap in Maricopa County election fight

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, not the Board of Supervisors, has authority over key election duties in the state’s most populous county.

The state’s high court threw out a Court of Appeals order that had blocked Heap from taking control of election operations.

The justices found that state law gives election responsibilities to the recorder or someone the recorder picks, not someone appointed by the board.

The board cannot use its control of the county budget to take over duties the Legislature assigned to the recorder, the court said.

In its place, the justices reinstated lower-court orders putting the recorder back in charge, relying on a 12-point plan that Heap’s legal team gave to the court.

The order takes effect immediately.

Board Chair Kate Brophy McGee and Vice Chair Debbie Lesko expressed disappointment in the court’s decision.

“It reverses the stay order in Heap v. Galvin, et al. and directs last-minute changes in election administration during the course of an ongoing election,” Brophy McGee and Lesko wrote in a joint statement.

The supervisors also claimed to have come to an agreement with Heap on Monday evening after two days of court-ordered mediation. However, they agreed to follow the court’s decision, stating their top priority is voters.

“Our primary concern has always been, and remains, Maricopa County’s 2.6 million voters,” the chair and vice chair emphasized. “We look forward to Recorder Heap’s plans in terms of how he intends to exercise his newfound authority to administer lawful, high-quality elections this year and beyond.”

What changes and what doesn’t in midterm elections?

The goal is for this all to be happening behind the scenes for voters.

No voting location, drop-box location, operating hours, deadline, ballot format, poll-worker assignment or equipment will change because of the ruling. Both offices will continue using the same election manual, check-in system and tabulators already in place.

What does change is who has the final say.

The recorder now has final authority over most election duties, including voter registration, early voting, signature verification and ballot chain-of-custody records.

The board keeps authority over setting up precincts and polling places, preparing ballots, running the central counting facility and the official canvass.

The plan also calls for the recorder and the board run Elections Department to jointly staff the command center during early voting, Election Day and post-election processing.

If the two sides disagree on how something should work, either one can take the issue to a judge within 24 hours.

How Maricopa County got here

The ruling is the latest development in a fight that started when Heap sued the board in June 2025, arguing supervisors had stripped his office of funding, staff and election duties through a deal made with his predecessor, Stephen Richer.

A judge ruled largely in Heap’s favor in April, but the board appealed and got the decision put on hold.

The Supreme Court stepped in last month and ordered both sides to try to work things out. With settlement talks still ongoing, the court issued Tuesday’s ruling.

With early voting already underway, the court said its order does not affect the public’s ability to cast a ballot in the July 21 primary or the general election.

The court urged both offices to cooperate and emphasized the importance of transparency and public confidence in elections.

Recorder Justin Heap and the Board of Supervisors did not respond to a KTAR News 92.3 FM request for comment.

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