Maricopa County supervisor slams Recorder Justin Heap over ‘disturbing’ election security breach

A Maricopa County supervisor is sounding the alarm over what he describes as “highly problematic” and potentially criminal actions taken by employees of County Recorder Justin Heap during a live election earlier this year.

Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin slammed Heap’s administration during a Friday appearance on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos, detailing security footage that allegedly shows recorder staff removing election equipment from the tabulation center in a manner reminiscent of “a cheesy ’80s heist movie.”

The growing rift centers on a March 12 incident at the county’s election headquarters during a local election. According to Galvin, security footage captured an information technology employee working for Heap gaining unauthorized access to a secure ballot storage area.

 

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“They went into what we call the ballot cage where ballots were being kept, but the recorder’s employees who work for Justin emerged with white envelopes,” Galvin said. “I have no way of knowing if they were walking out with live ballots, or if there’s anything in those envelopes. However, I think it is highly problematic … because only certain people have access to that space in that building.”

Maricopa County supervisor says IT employee took equipment

Galvin noted that access to the ballot cage requires strict badge authentication. The IT employee in question allegedly did not have authority to enter the space and had another employee use their badge to get him inside.

“This to me is very disturbing,” Galvin said. “What the heck is an IT employee doing inside the ballot cage? That’s not his purview.”

The confrontation escalated when Heap’s employees targeted an election scanning machine. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors elections department had previously sent an email to the recorder’s office explicitly stating the scanner belonged to the board. Galvin said that warning was completely ignored.

“Went in, as you see in the video, there’s a couple of ladies that work in the office that kind of stood up and looked at these guys and said, ‘What are you doing?’ And like something out of a cheesy ’80s heist movie, they said, ‘Back off, lady,’ and they walked out with it,” Galvin said.

The equipment was then carted outside the building, down a ramp and loaded into the back of an unmarked civilian pickup truck before being driven off the property during active election operations.

“I never heard why. … And frankly, I don’t care,” Galvin said, emphasizing that protocols exist to resolve property disputes between county departments. “You don’t take something after someone else says, ‘No, it’s ours … please don’t take it.’ And then you just don’t go in there like gangbusters.”

While the scanner was returned approximately an hour later, Galvin said the breach rendered the equipment useless. Because the chain of custody was broken and the machine was compromised, the county was forced to allocate $70,000 in taxpayer funds to purchase a replacement.

Galvin pointed out the stark irony of the situation, noting that figures who spent years fueling unproven conspiracy theories about the 2020 and 2022 elections have remained remarkably silent about actual video evidence of a security breach.

“All of the grifters pushing these stupid conspiracy theories about elections that never were true or panned out, now we see it on video. Your eyes are not lying to you and they’re quiet about it,” Galvin said. “Can you imagine if the board of supervisors had done that to Justin Heap? He would have been the first guy in the street with pitchforks.”

The incident initially triggered an internal human resources investigation by the county, which Heap and the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office refused to participate in. The matter was subsequently referred to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Citing a conflict of interest because County Attorney Rachel Mitchell is a colleague of the involved parties, the office appointed a special prosecutor to handle the independent criminal investigation.

“I just want everybody to understand like this is Justin Heap and the chaos that’s coming with it,” Galvin said. “If you’re truly wanting election integrity, if you want safe and secure elections, what Justin Heap is doing is very questionable. People who are just trying to make money off this thing or to generate clicks or likes or whatever, they don’t really care about election integrity. They’re showing you that right now.”

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