Big Win! Maricopa Superior Court Judge Orders Board of Supervisors to Restore Key Election Functions to Recorder’s Office

In October of 2024, former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer entered into an agreement with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (Board) to shift certain election duties away from the Recorder’s office and to the Board.  This was done months after Justin Heap defeated Richer in the July 30th, 2024, Republican Primary for Maricopa County Recorder, and one month before Heap won the November 5th election to succeed Richer.

The agreement was unanimous and gave the Board control over early ballot processing, including the appointment of a bipartisan board responsible for overseeing the early voting process.  The agreement also centralized election-related information technology (IT) functions, as well as the $5 million budget associated with the IT service.

Following the agreement’s approval on October 10th, KJZZ Phoenix reported:

The agreement, unanimously approved by the board on Oct. 10, gives the Board of Supervisors the authority to appoint the board that processes early ballots, which includes an inspector and two judges from different political parties. According to the Election Procedures Manual, those boards examine, count and verify early ballots before they are tabulated. That includes opening envelopes, ensuring the ballot envelopes show the correct election code and identifying damaged ballots.

…

Under the previous shared services agreement adopted in 2023, the recorder managed early ballot processing.

Under the new agreement, the Recorder’s Office will retain other election-related responsibilities, including voter registration, planning and administering early voting and signature verification of early ballots.

However, the Board of Supervisors also voted to move the recorder’s information technology staff and its associated $5 million budget under its supervision, including “any IT-related service necessary for the Recorder to effectively perform its elections or business-related responsibilities as designated.

Upon assuming office, Heap cancelled the contract and called on the newly seated Board of Supervisors to renegotiate.  In a statement posted to the Maricopa County Recorder’s website, Heap suggested he would take legal action over “the Supervisors’ unwillingness to address these concerns.”

Heap did take legal action, and yesterday a Maricopa County Superior Court judge sided with the Recorder’s position.

According to the Court’s decision, the authority was delegated to a county’s recorder or an “other officer in charge of elections.”  But the order also stated that, “The recorder may subsequently withdraw his or her consent and reclaim his or her statutory authority or responsibility.”

The judge ordered that the Board of Supervisors “return to the Recorder’s direct custody and/or control the IT staff, servers, databases, software, websites, and equipment that were in the Recorder’s custody…prior to October of 2024…” and enjoined the Board of Supervisors “from further exercising any election functions delegated by the Legislature to the Recorder.”

The Board of Supervisors had argued that it had the authority to control funding and structure operations of the Recorder’s office, however, the judge rejected that claim, finding that the Board of Supervisors has a “non-discretionary duty to fund all reasonable and necessary expenses of the Recorder as set forth in Title 16 of Arizona Revised Statutes.”

 

“In a decisive ruling issued April 16, 2026, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge found that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors overstepped its authority in its ongoing dispute with Recorder Justin Heap, ordering the Board to restore key election functions and resources…

— Jennifer Asper (@j3669) April 17, 2026

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