The legal fight between Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap and the County Board of Supervisors escalated Monday. America First Legal filed two motions on Heap’s behalf, and Arizona’s legislative leaders submitted an amicus brief supporting him.
In a press release, the County Recorder’s Office stated that the motionsfiled by America First Legal “reveal how the County Board of Supervisors and County Attorney Rachel Mitchell have weaponized county government against duly-elected Recorder Justin Heap simply because he dared to fulfill his statutory duties and protect the sanctity of Arizona elections.”
Heap said in a statement, “It’s unfortunate that the Board’s unprofessional and bad faith actions have forced us to litigate this issue; however, it’s significantly more unfortunate that the Board continues to deny the voters of Maricopa County the positive, common sense election integrity reforms that they voted for last November when they elected me. As I’ve promised from day one, I am working to ensure honest, secure, and transparent elections for every voter in Maricopa County. I am not, and will not, waiver in my commitment to executing on this promise. I’m grateful to America First Legal for standing by my side in this battle.”
Recorder Justin Heap Refuses to Back Down in the Face of Unprecedented Attack on Election Integrity in Maricopa County ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/p9db5ODufm
— Maricopa County Recorder's Office (@RecordersOffice) August 25, 2025
America First Legal detailed Heap’s allegations in the first filing: “The Defendants — the members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (‘BOS’) — have crossed from fiscal oversight into outright sabotage. Ignoring [state law] and decades of precedent, the BOS has refused to fund the Recorder’s ‘necessary expenses’ — from modern ballot-processing equipment to indispensable IT staff — while simultaneously seizing control of the very election functions its stonewalling endangers. The BOS’s obstruction is not mere bureaucratic foot-dragging; it is a calculated power grab that throttles the Recorder’s constitutional duty to administer secure, timely elections.”
🚨Arizona voters deserve elections run according to the law—not confusion or overreach.
Today Senate President @votewarren filed a brief in Heap v. Galvin making it clear: only the Legislature sets election duties, and they must be carried out by the officials elected for the… pic.twitter.com/CRGOFYIb34
In an amici filing in support of Heap, Arizona House Speaker Steven Montenegro and Senate President Warren Petersen’s legal representation call for a strict interpretation of state statutes which govern the responsibilities of the county recorder and board of supervisors. They argue that the “court should narrowly conclude that, based on the statutes’ plain language, when the statute authorizes ‘the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections’ to act, it is the recorder’s duty to ensure the statute is complied with unless the recorder expressly agrees to delegate that duty to another ‘officer in charge of elections.’”
As previously reported by AZ Free News, the months-long negotiations between Heap and the Board, led by Chairman Thomas Galvin, devolved steadily since Heap’s election and the replacement of Stephen Richer in January until finally collapsing into litigation in June.
The crux of the disagreement between the Board of Supervisors and County Recorder Heap rests upon a Shared Services Agreement (SSA) agreed to by Heap’s predecessor, Richer, who ardently opposed the election integrity efforts that Heap ran for office to enact. For nearly six months, the two county offices negotiated; however, Heap and the Supervisors were unable to reach an agreement, culminating in a lawsuit filed by Heap.
Since then, Heap has alleged that the Supervisors have “taken retaliatory actions” describing a series of measures that “make it impossible for him to do his job, including removing nearly all his election-related IT staff; seizing the servers, databases, and websites necessary to fulfill his duties; and restricting access to necessary facilities and equipment,” as reported by The Federalist.
In a second filing, Heap and America First Legal introduced allegations involving Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, bringing a third County office into the fray in a dispute over who may represent the County Recorder, an attorney chosen by Heap or Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. In the legal brief, they allege, “Attorney Mitchell originally appointed a criminal defense attorney to advise the Recorder; however, in April, America First Legal agreed to represent Heap pro bono, a move that Mitchell objected to.”
“When the Recorder complained that the original attorney appointed for him lacked sufficient subject matter expertise, County Attorney Mitchell appointed former Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould to advise the Recorder only during negotiations with the Board. However, County Attorney Mitchell and the Board did not allow Justice Gould to litigate on the Recorder’s behalf,” the filing revealed.
But according to AFL, that wasn’t the end of it. “In May of 2025, Justice Gould specifically asked the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for permission to litigate on Recorder Heap’s behalf but was not allowed to do so because the scope of his representation was limited to negotiation of the SSA and did not include litigation, and, accordingly, the County would not compensate him for litigation-related work.”
Mitchell responded by penning a letter to the AFL attorneys, writing in part, “This letter is to inform you that I am the Recorder’s attorney and that you do not represent the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office or Recorder Heap in his official capacity.”
Per The Federalist, AFL attorney James Rogers retorted that the “County Recorder is allowed to pick his own lawyer in litigation,” adding that Heap “is not subject to the whims of the county attorney.”
In the midst of the complex legal battle between the Recorder’s Office and the Board of Supervisors, which has drawn the attention of legislative leaders, the dispute with Mitchell adds yet another layer of infighting within the already divided county government, with the calendar counting down to the 2026 elections.
All of Arizona’s 15 counties are now undertaking efforts to remove any illegal aliens from their voter rolls following a lawsuit filed by America First Legal (AFL), a right-wing nonprofit.
There is no certainty as to how many — if any — illegal aliens exist on Arizona’s voter rolls. There are nearly 50,000 individuals registered to vote in the state that only vote in federal races because they did not provide proof of citizenship. These voters are known as “federal-only” voters.
AFL filed its lawsuit last year and secured settlements in waves, first from Yavapai and Mohave counties last year and then the remaining counties last week. Per a press release from AFL on Monday, all 15 county recorders are now obtaining assistance from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify the citizenship status of all registered voters who have not provided proof of citizenship.
AFL explained it filed the lawsuit because it believed the county recorders were not “utilizing all available resources” for citizenship verification, despite Arizona law requiring monthly voter roll maintenance to purge noncitizen voters; federal law also permits state and local to seek confirmation of citizenship status.
AFL senior counsel James Rogers expressed further confidence in Arizona’s election integrity going forward with these settlements.
“This settlement is a great result for all Arizonans. This will help County Recorders find and remove any aliens on their voter rolls,” said Rogers. “It will also potentially enfranchise federal-only voters whose citizenship is confirmed, which would allow them to vote in State and local elections. AFL congratulates each of Arizona’s 15 County Recorders for taking this bold and important step for election integrity in the State.”
AFL filed the lawsuit on behalf of Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, also known as “EZAZ,” and registered voter Yvonne Cahill.
As reported by AZ Free News, there were over 11,600 federal-only voters who cast a ballot in the 2020 presidential election.
On the day of his inauguration earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring the DHS secretary and personnel to equip state and local governments with all necessary resources and tools to secure confirmation of citizenship and immigration status. Trump followed up this directive with another executive order last month directing DHS to share its citizenship and immigration status database with states.
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap said he plans on complying with the settlement once he secures an IT team.
“We will have transparency in our elections. We will have integrity. One citizen, one vote. But I am unable to do that when the office of the Recorder is being deliberately gutted by insiders who like the status quo…” said Heap. “I wasn’t elected to beg unelected bureaucrats for the right to carry out the will of the voters and my statutory duties. Maricopa County needs to stop playing games and let me do my job.”
🧵I am eager to send DHS a request allowing us to check Maricopa County’s voter rolls against their database of non-citizens.
But I can’t do that without an IT team.
I am committed to delivering on the promises I made during my campaign… https://t.co/j4ADGyvOfc
— Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) April 9, 2025
Heap was referring to an ongoing disagreement with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors over the reduction of his office’s authorities under an agreement executed months before Heap took office.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Senate President Warren Petersen announced on Monday morning that he received the list of 218,000 voters registered without proof of citizenship.
These 218,000 voters (an increase from the initial estimate of nearly 100,000) had obtained their driver’s licenses prior to the 1996 requirement to apply with proof of citizenship, went on to get a duplicate license, and then registered to vote for the first time or re-registered to vote after 2004. For over 20 years, they were caught up in a compatibility error between the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the state’s voter registration system.
Later in the day, Fontes announced that voters can check whether they’re one of the affected voters through my.arizona.vote.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled in September that these voters caught up in the compatibility error would be allowed to vote the full ballot. America First Legal sued Fontes last month to obtain access to that list of voters.
“This morning I authorized receipt of those names,” said Petersen. “We will do everything we can to make sure our elections are run with integrity.”
Judge ruled AZSOS must release 218k names that he had refused to disclose. This morning I authorized receipt of those names. We will do everything we can to make sure our elections are run with integrity. Special thanks to @merissahamilton@America1stLegal@JenWEsq!
After Petersen announced receipt of the list, Fontes held a press conference discussing the impact of the court-ordered release.
“Let me be very clear about that: every single person on that list has sworn under penalty of perjury that they are a U.S. citizen and eligible to vote,” said Fontes. “They’ve done the exact same thing that every other citizen of the United States of America has done. But because here in Arizona we have that extra thing that needs to be done, that extra documented proof of citizenship — that is not required anywhere else in the country — we find ourselves in this quagmire.”
Fontes assured voters that they had the right to not be harassed at their homes or have others demand identification from them. Fontes said that any harassing of the 218,000 voters would be subject to prosecution.
“If anyone does do this sort of thing, please contact our office or your local law enforcement agency. Voter harassment and intimidation is a violation of the law,” said Fontes.
Fontes said that his office would be contacting the county recorders about voters on the list within the next few days and week. The secretary of state said that their office would work “later this year” to collect the appropriate documentary proof of citizenship.
Fontes discouraged the 218,000 voters on the list from contacting their local election officers presently, due to the busy nature of the ongoing election.
“You are under no obligation whatsoever to provide documented proof of citizenship if you’re on this list,” said Fontes.
Fontes said he is “not happy” with the court order, and blamed the focus on the 218,000 voters on the “lies and conspiracies” by individuals concerned with election integrity, which he characterized as “folks who mean this democracy harm.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
The Arizona Supreme Court handed a sound defeat to Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and a victory to the America First Legal Foundation and Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, known as “EZAZ.org.” The court ruled on Thursday that Fontes’ office is ordered to immediately provide a full list of all individuals who registered to vote in the state of Arizona without providing the proof of citizenship required under the law, a total of approximately 218,000 people as previously reported by AZ Free News.
The ruling obliterated Fontes’ response to EZAZ.org’s demand for transparency, which claimed, “We fear, especially based on SCF’s filings, that its true desire here is not to keep watch on government actions — which our public records laws are designed to facilitate — but instead harass and intimidate voters in the midst of an election and whose rights Secretary Fontes has already vindicated before Arizona’s highest court.”
The court found that the testimony of Professor Robert Pape, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago who suggested with Fontes that “producing the list of 218,000 voters to EZAZ.org would expose those individuals to the risk of harassment and violence,” was “focused on political violence trends nationally and contained no analysis of such trends in Arizona.” They found further that, “Pape admitted on cross-examination that he conducted no research specific to Arizona. Professor Pape offered little more than speculation that a release of the requested information would lead to violence or harassment and, again, only based this opinion on national statistics.”
Finally, the court laid the claims about potential political violence to rest writing:
“The credibility of Professor Pape’s testimony and report was further diminished by what appeared to be gratuitous political bias in his report and in his testimony. The Professor’s opinions regarding general political violence focused almost entirely on allegations of past and anticipated prospective violence from only one side of the political spectrum, and only related to former president Donald Trump.”
The ruling concludes, “They failed to identify any specific threats of violence or harassment from EZAZ.org, and Ms. Hamilton’s unrebutted testimony established that EZAZ.org does not condone violent or harassing behavior and carefully screens its members and volunteers to ensure that persons who do condone or participate in such behavior do not participate in the organization.”
In a statement, America First Legal described the ruling saying, “The court found that Secretary Fontes ‘provided inconsistent testimony on this point’ and that ‘[h]is testimony suggested that he lacked detailed familiarity with the AZSOS’s efforts with regard to the issue and with regard to the records in the possession of the AZSOS related to the 218,000 individuals.’ The court’s order requires Secretary Fontes to produce the list of 98,000 individuals that he has along with any other personally identifying information that he has about the 218,000 individuals.”
James Rogers, America First Legal Senior Counsel, celebrated the ruling saying, “A majority of Arizonans no longer trust the election system of our state. One of the reasons is the lack of transparency from our state’s elected officials. When Secretary Fontes discovered the glitch that allowed 218,000 individuals to register without providing proof of citizenship, he should have immediately shared the list of affected individuals with Arizona’s county recorders, who are in charge of verifying the citizenship of voters. Instead, he has jealously guarded the list, refusing to share it with anyone. This suit was about restoring transparency and ensuring that county recorders can do their jobs by verifying the citizenship of voters. It is unfortunate that Secretary Fontes so aggressively opposed our common-sense efforts to help restore trust in our state’s election system.”
“This was a case we never should have needed to file,” said Rogers.
EZAZ.org’s Merrissa Hamilton wrote in a post to X, “FONTES = 0; TRANSPARENCY = WINNING! Despite AZ Secretary Adrian Fontes’ best efforts to falsely paint @AZHouseGOP@AZSenateGOP as homicidal maniacs (totally unhinged argument not remotely grounded in reality), while he’s also actively preventing Recorders from having access to do their jobs …
The Honorable Judge Blaney ruled in our favor in requiring Fontes to release to EZAZ.org the 98k voters impacted by the MVD ‘glitch’ causing voters to not have proof of citizenship on record.
Our only intent has always been to ensure the Recorders and Legislative leadership can do their jobs! And legal voters are enfranchised with confidence that their government is following the law in the operation of the elections!
Now that will happen! And the reputation of our happy, hardworking volunteers at EZAZ.org is restored!”
🥳FONTES = 0; TRANSPARENCY = WINNING!✅
Despite AZ Secretary Adrian Fontes' best efforts to falsely paint @AZHouseGOP@AZSenateGOP as homicidal maniacs (totally unhinged argument not remotely grounded in reality), while he's also actively preventing Recorders from having access… pic.twitter.com/ZlPl4JhhQi
On Thursday, America First Legal announced that the organization has launched a lawsuit against Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and the Secretary of State’s Office on behalf of Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, also known as EZAZ.org. The foundation and America First Legal contend that by refusing to release a list of more than 218,000 individuals who illegally registered to vote without providing proof of citizenship, Fontes is violating the law.
The flaw at the center of both cases was revealed to the Arizona voters when Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer realized the flaw’s implication, that tens of thousands of people were on the voter list without proof of citizenship, and brought an Emergency Petition to the Arizona Supreme Court.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Sep. 20th that almost 98,000 Maricopa County voters whose citizenship documents got caught up in a coding error will be allowed to vote the full ballot.
According to America First Legal, in a matter of hours, AFL filed a public records request on behalf of EZAZ.org calling on Fontes to produce the list of voters he had identified as being unlawfully registered. Fontes denied the request and unleashed a bizarre accusatory response through his attorney.
AFL wrote, “Rather than treating constituents with respect and decorum, their response was a bombastic tirade that invoked a bizarre conspiracy theory accusing EZAZ.org of secretly planning to harass the voters on the list. There is, of course, no evidence to support Secretary Fontes’s conspiracy theory, and EZAZ.org has no intention of harassing anyone. Secretary Fontes also feebly claimed that compiling the list would be too hard for his staff. None of these excuses hold water. Fontes’s staff has already compiled the list–that’s how they know the number of affected voters. And there is no risk that these voters will be harassed–EZAZ.org’s mission is all about protecting voters.”
James Rogers, America First Legal Senior Counsel, explained in a statement, “There have been major failures in the administration of just about every general election in Arizona from 2016 until now. It’s no wonder that Arizonans’ trust in their electoral system is at an all-time low. And every time anyone expresses concern, how does Secretary Fontes react? Victim blaming.”
“His patronizing response is always to attack voters for caring about the integrity of their system and expecting that public officials follow the law. But how can Arizonans trust their elections when the person in charge of administering them is so fervently opposed to basic transparency? That is not what Arizonans expect from their elected leaders. The law requires Secretary Fontes to produce these records, and AFL will work to hold him accountable until he does,” said James Rogers.
“America First Legal Sues Arizona Secretary of State’s Office for Illegally Withholding List of 218,000 Registered Voters Who Have Not Provided Proof of Citizenship.” https://t.co/EVPZcBkyGw
In the text of the lawsuit, AFL argues, “By refusing public access to these records, the Defendants frustrate the core purpose of the Public Records Law, to ‘monitor the performance of the government officials.’” The suit continues, “And because these records deal with a pressing issue of immediate public concern, time is of the essence. The Defendants should be ordered to immediately fulfill Plaintiff’s public records request.”
In a letter responding to the request, cited by the New York Post, the Secretary of State’s Office said, “We fear, especially based on SCF’s filings, that its true desire here is not to keep watch on government actions — which our public records laws are designed to facilitate — but instead harass and intimidate voters in the midst of an election and whose rights Secretary Fontes has already vindicated before Arizona’s highest court.”
Stephen Miller, former Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump and America First Legal President said in a statement, “America First Legal continues to lead the fight for election integrity. We are suing the state of Arizona for refusing to provide the list of 218,000 voters who failed or refused to establish citizenship. It is absolutely imperative that we stop the dire threat of illegal alien voting, which is the gravest form of foreign election interference.”
