Heap, Maricopa County board settle election control dispute

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(The Center Square) - In Maricopa County, Recorder Justin Heap and the Board of Supervisors have ended their dispute about who controls certain election functions.

Both sides reached an agreement this week on who will oversee specific election responsibilities for the 2026 election and future elections. The pact comes just in time for next week's Arizona primary election.

The agreement between Heap and the Phoenix-based Board of Supervisors comes one week after the Arizona Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision vacating a Court of Appeals stay that halted a Superior Court order, directing the board to return specific election functions to Heap’s office.

In the agreement, Heap will be in control of early in-person voting, including site selection, equipment operation and staffing.

The board will finance 12 new positions for Heap’s office for early voting.

Heap’s office will allow the board to control emergency voting operations for the county through the 2028 election cycle. On top of this, the board will be in control of Election Day voting, including site selection, equipment operation and staffing.

The board will operate and supervise ballot tabulations as required by state law.

The board is also responsible for funding 24 new information technology positions to work in Heap’s office. Furthermore, the board will spend $15 million on a new information technology system for Heap’s office that operates outside of the current system.

Heap and the board will continue to collaboratively oversee the current IT system until the new one is built.

In a statement, Heap said the agreement “concludes the current litigation, but its success will ultimately be measured by its faithful implementation.”

“My office is ready to carry out every responsibility entrusted to us under Arizona law, and we remain committed to delivering elections that are lawful, secure, transparent, and worthy of the public's trust," he said.

According to Board Chair Kate Brophy McGee, the board’s “focus remains on administering lawful, secure and accurate elections so that Maricopa County residents may vote confidently.”

During an interview with The Center Square, Supervisor Mark Stewart said he is glad the dispute is over.

When the Arizona Supreme Court lifted the stay motion from the lower court, the board and Heap had already begun mediation talks to determine who would be in charge of certain election functions in Maricopa County, Stewart said.

The new agreement between the two sides goes beyond the 2023 Shared Service Agreement, he said.

The Maricopa County government website describes the SSA as a “mutual understanding between the board and recorder about the management of election-related activities.”

The 2023 SSA permitted the recorder to control voter registration and early ballot operations.

Stewart said Heap was willing to return to the 2023 SSA, but Stewart's colleagues were not supportive of the idea.

Some board members “really had their heels dug in and weren’t giving anything back to the recorder,” the supervisor said.

He added that he didn’t know why these election responsibilities were taken from Heap in the first place.

Arizona primary elections will take place on July 21. Early voting began on June 24.  

According to Stewart, Maricopa County voters “have nothing to worry about.”

“I know there are people out there saying these last-minute changes are going to create a bunch of heartache and uncertainty. That’s not the case," Stewart told The Center Square. "We have good people who have done this a lot, and they know what to do."