Justin Heap asks judge to hold Maricopa County BOS in contempt, $100K daily fine

Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap wants the county board of supervisors to either comply with a court order or be fined $100,000 a day.

In a Friday filing, Heap asked a judge to hold the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in contempt of court, saying the board has refused to comply with an April ruling over who controls key parts of the county’s election operations.

A brief history of Heap’s dispute with the board

The dispute dates back to October 2024, when outgoing recorder Stephen Richer signed an agreement transferring control of the recorder’s IT staff, servers and voter registration systems to the board of supervisors.

After taking office in January 2025, Heap terminated that agreement and sued to get the systems back.

In an April 16 ruling, the court ordered the board to return the IT staff and systems, or fund their replacement, and barred the board from taking over election duties assigned by law to the recorder.

In Friday’s filing, Heap argues the board has ignored that order.

He said the board has not returned any IT staff, servers or databases, has refused to release $4.1 million in state funds and roughly $1 million in federal election grants.

On May 20, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution claiming authority to set up early ballot drop boxes for the 2026 primary election.

As with the IT issue, Heap argues that power belongs solely to the recorder under state law, and that drop boxes run by the board would be unlawful. His attorneys warned the board before the vote that county employees collecting ballots from those boxes could face felonies under Arizona’s ballot harvesting laws.

Heap is asking the court to order the board to fully comply within five days. If they don’t, he wants fines of at least $100,000 per day for continued noncompliance, along with attorneys’ fees.

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors chair pushes back

In a statement, Maricopa County Chair Kate Brophy McGee said the board asked Heap to meet in person more than a week ago to resolve issues ahead of the 2026 elections, but he did not responded.

“At every turn, Recorder Heap and his attorneys have sought confrontation rather than collaboration,” Brophy McGee said.

She added that the board remains committed to a secure and transparent elections process and stands behind county elections staff.

The primary elections are July 21.

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