By Matthew Holloway |
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap has announced that his office set a new speed record for processing Election Day ballot drop-offs, completing signature verification and curing ballots within 48 hours of the Nov. 4th elections. The matter was complicated when officials scrambled to process thousands of ballot envelopes discovered days later in a misplaced transport box.
In a Nov. 6 update on X, Heap wrote, “All calls to voters with signature inconsistencies have been completed.” He added that finishing both signature verification and voter calls “within just 48 hours of Election Day shatters all previous timeframes for elections with more than 100,000 Election Day drop-offs.”
According to detailed metrics provided to AZ Free News by the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, the November election included 117,664 ballot packets returned via mail or drop box on Election Day. Signature verification on those packets began at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5, and the office says the final file review was completed by 2:33 p.m., for an 8.5-hour turnaround on the Election Day returns.
For comparison, the Recorder’s Office pointed to the July 30, 2024, primary, when roughly 114,681 similar packets took about two days to clear signature review under then-Recorder Stephen Richer. In an emailed statement to AZ Free News, Maricopa County Director of Communications Judy Keane wrote:
“This represents a dramatic acceleration in post–Election Day processing: completing in 8.5 hours what previously required two days in the 2024 Primary, despite similar packet volumes. This outcome demonstrates the effectiveness of process improvements and the exceptional performance of the team.”
Two-Reviewer System and Quad-Screen Interface
Heap campaigned on tightening signature verification and has spent much of his first year in office overhauling the workflow while feuding with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors over funding, control of election IT systems, and a controversial Shared Services Agreement now mired in litigation.
In response to written questions from AZ Free News, the county Public Information Office said that every early-ballot signature in the Nov. 4 election was reviewed by at least two human reviewers of different parties.
The office described the workflow this way:
- Level One review uses a “quad-screen” interface on a single monitor:
- Bottom left: the affidavit signature being reviewed
- Above it: the voter’s latest signature on file
- Upper right: second-latest signature
- Middle right: third-latest signature
- Bottom right: the voter’s registration signature
All signature exemplars can be rotated to the primary comparison position above the affidavit signature so reviewers can align shapes and slants.
According to the county, Level Two reviewers see the same layout. Still, they can also scroll through the voter’s full signature history when Level One reviewers either disagree or cannot comfortably verify a match.
County officials say that the combination of two reviewers of opposing parties and deeper access to a voter’s signature history at the second level was designed to increase both scrutiny and perceived neutrality, after years of partisan conflict over how Maricopa handles early ballots.
For voters whose signatures still couldn’t be confirmed, the office used multiple curing channels tied to identity verification: calls from election staff, text messages (for those who opted in), emails, and a secure online dashboard at BeBallotReady.vote, consistent with state guidance on signature curing windows.
Record Processing Claims Tested by Ballot Mishap
Heap’s announcement of “shattering” past performance landed just as Maricopa County was forced to acknowledge another election-administration black eye: the discovery of two sealed transport boxes with 2,288 returned ballot affidavit envelopes that had not been included in the initial post-Election Day processing.
On Nov. 7, county elections officials disclosed that poll workers had mistakenly placed the sealed transport boxes inside a blue drop box instead of returning them to the county’s election center on Election Night. Local outlets reported that the boxes bore intact tamper-evident seals and matched election-night serial numbers, but the ballots inside had not been counted, according to AZ Family.
Heap’s office responded with its own update, saying signature verification on all 2,288 ballot packets had been completed and that every voter whose signature needed curing had been contacted before the statutory deadline.
Jennifer Liewer, Deputy Elections Director, issued a statement following the report saying:
“Friday, Nov. 7, 2025: This morning, as part of standard post-election protocols, elections workers inspected equipment that had been returned from voting locations. This process includes unpacking and logging equipment.
“During this inspection, two sealed transport boxes of returned ballot affidavit envelopes were found inside a blue drop box. While the transport boxes did have tamper evident seals, ensuring the security of ballots, poll workers had mistakenly placed the sealed boxes inside a blue drop box rather than returning them on Election Night. Immediately after the discovery, a bi-partisan team of election staff took custody of the sealed bins and worked quickly to ensure chain of custody was followed. The green affidavit envelopes will now be signature verified and processed for tabulation.
“Per statute, green affidavit envelopes are to be counted at the close of voting on Election Night. Counted envelopes are then placed in a large bin, sealed, and returned to the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center.”
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Recorder Heap has been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors over funding to modernize and provide technical support for the county’s election equipment, and centered on the division of responsibilities created in a Shared Services Agreement (SSA) agreed to by Heap’s predecessor, Stephen Richer.
Heap sought a Temporary Restraining Order against the Board’s planned assessment of election systems and databases in early October, per KJZZ. However, on November 6th, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney denied the motion, writing “The Recorder’s concerns regarding the assessment’s potential interference with the 2026 Primary Election are speculative at this point in the litigation,” according to the court order.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
