by Staff Reporter | Mar 3, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Recorder are at an apparent impasse in resolving the ongoing conflict over the recorder’s election powers.
Historically, Maricopa County officials interpreted state law governing election functions at the county level to authorize the recorder with full responsibility over elections through a Shared Services Agreement (SSA). Changes made in recent years, especially those made last year, are the source of serious conflict between Recorder Justin Heap and the board of supervisors.
For over 30 years, county supervisors and the recorder abided by an SSA which granted the recorder all election responsibilities. In 2019, the board and former recorder (now secretary of state) Adrian Fontes lessened the recorder’s responsibilities by having the recorder’s office handle early voting while the board managed in-person voting and tabulation.
Then, last October, the outgoing recorder Stephen Richer and board supervisors entered a new SSA. In a press release on Monday, Heap claimed that the new SSA further reduced the election-related responsibilities of the recorder’s office to signature verification only and reassigned a significant portion of the recorder’s budgeting and staffing to the board.
Heap announced that he submitted a letter to the supervisors claiming the new SSA was “not binding or enforceable,” referencing a consultation with the county attorney’s office.
Heap characterized the ongoing negotiations over the SSA as a “battle” beset by “rising public outrage” and “misinformation” in his press release.
“Stephen Richer’s parting gift to the voters of Maricopa County, after suffering an embarrassing primary election defeat, was a punitive backroom agreement with the lame-duck Board majority designed to hamstring the office of the Recorder,” said Heap. “For weeks, since before being sworn into office, I’ve sought reasonable, common-sense solutions with my fellow Republicans on the Board, only to be ignored. Maricopa County elections need a practical, workable SSA to ensure efficient, accurate elections; however, the Supervisors’ refusal to engage in honest dialogue risks a crisis in our upcoming elections.”
Heap requested the board revert election-related authorities under provisions similar to those outlined in the 2021 SSA, and restore his authority over early voting. Heap threatened legal action if his demands weren’t met.
In response to Heap’s press release, the county posted a slightly different breakdown of election responsibilities between Heap’s office and the supervisors that evening.
In the board of supervisor’s version of the SSA breakdown, recorder responsibilities consist of maintaining the voter registration database, preparing ballots and envelopes for voters, mailing early ballots to voters, receiving early ballots sent by USPS, managing in-bound envelope scanning, overseeing signature verification and curing of questionable signatures, sending and receiving UOCAVA ballots, administering Special Election Boards, and researching and curing all provisional ballots.
Supervisor election-related duties consist of managing candidate services and ballot-building; coordinating in-person voting for early, emergency, and Election Day voting; picking up ballots from early voting sites and drop boxes and providing to the recorder for in-bound envelope scanning; hiring and training election workers at the tabulation center and poll workers to support in-person voting; approving and managing operations of vote centers for early, emergency, and Election Day voting; processing ballots (removal of ballots from affidavit envelopes); tabulating all ballots (provisional, early, Election Day); canvassing of election results; and conducting recounts as ordered by statute.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin also issued a statement describing Heap’s account of recorder responsibilities and ongoing negotiations with the board as factually inaccurate.
“Conversations between the Board and its staff, and the Recorder and his staff, have been happening for weeks. Despite the factual errors in Recorder Heap’s statement, I don’t view this as a ‘battle,’” said Galvin. “Shared service agreements in Maricopa County are frequently renegotiated, each time in consultation with our attorneys to ensure compliance with state law.
My colleagues and I happily look forward to further and continued dialogue to ensure a new SSA aligns with Arizona law and best practices in election administration.”
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by Matthew Holloway | Mar 2, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Wednesday to allocate up to $480k to perform an election audit in cooperation with the Maricopa County Elections Department and the County Recorder’s Office.
According to Maricopa County, the board has approved funding for two distinct independent reviews to be conducted on the technology employed by election officials as well as a comprehensive review of election processes. VoteBeat reporter Jen Fifield revealed in a post to X that the cost breakdown will be $80k for the technology review and $400k to review election processes to be conducted by outside firms through the normal Request for Proposal Process.
The Board of Supervisors’ website for the review detailed that the technology review will “make sure election equipment was not tampered with during the 2024 election cycle and cannot connect to the internet. The last in-depth review of our tabulation equipment was completed in 2021, and the County has replaced and upgraded many components of our tabulation equipment.”
Regarding the process review, investigators will “include extensive research about key aspects of the election process, especially those that seem to prompt confusion or concern, including: Physical Security, Chain of custody, Tabulation.”
The board noted that “The process will be overseen by the Maricopa County Internal Audit Department and will be free of Board and staff influence.”
Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Thomas Galvin said in a statement, “In my Chairman’s speech, I promised an independent review of Maricopa County election processes and procedures. That work starts today with Board approval of funding to our Internal Audit Department for a comprehensive review on key aspects of election administration in Maricopa County. We want to continue expanding transparency with the public and make adjustments where they are necessary. We welcome the opportunity to improve! I believe this comprehensive review, coupled with action from the state legislature to reform outdated laws, will give voters more confidence and ultimately strengthen American democracy.”
He posted to X, “The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to hire an independent 3rd party to review our elections procedures & identify areas to improve. I’m proud to work with colleagues who are committed to operational excellence”
In a press release, Vice Chair Kate Brophy McGee, District 3, said, ““We are united in our belief that Maricopa County administers free and fair elections. However, I believe this comprehensive review will give voters more confidence and ultimately strengthen American democracy.”
Emphasizing the need for an audit by outside firms, Supervisor Mark Stewart, District 1, said in a statement, “Maricopa County deserves best-in-class elections. Today, a united Board took action to invest in a comprehensive, independent review of election processes and procedures because we recognize the value of outside expertise.”
“I hear it every day from friends and neighbors—they want a government that operates in plain view, that’s accountable to the people, and that jumps at the opportunity to get better. That’s what this comprehensive review is about, and I’m excited that we are moving forward with it on behalf of voters.”
According to the release, the board will release the findings generated by the auditors hired “in a public setting, without edits, revisions or changes,” with the board stating, “The auditors’ work will be theirs and theirs alone.”
In later posts to X, responding to reports from AZCentral, Galvin openly criticized the 2022 Election Audit conducted by the firm Cyber Ninjas, commissioned by the Arizona Senate. He said, “I’m very proud of the fact that we’re going to allow a third party to come in and show us where we can do better. But when we emerge out of that, you’re going to see a stronger, more robust board … advocate for much needed election reforms at the state level.”
“I actually think the timing is perfect. …we’re not defensive and that we’re open to new ideas,” he added. “This is how you do it — not the way the Cyber Ninjas audit was done. So, frankly, I want to show that this is the right way to do it.”
Following the unanimous vote, the meeting of the Board of Supervisors ended abruptly after four of the 19 registered public commenters spoke. Galvin cited “too much yelling” for the reason of the abrupt ending. The discord centered around the ongoing disagreement between Galvin and Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap regarding an agreement between former Recorder Stephen Richer and the outgoing Board of Supervisors, which set the election areas of responsibility for each office.
Merissa Hamilton of Strong Communities Action/EZAZ.org stated that Supervisors Stewart and Lesko remained to engage with the public following adjournment.
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.
by Matthew Holloway | Feb 28, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
A series of posts to X on Tuesday sparked a firestorm of controversy when Merissa Hamilton of Strong Communities Action-EZAZ.org made a bombshell allegation that Maricopa County Election officials were made well aware of the potential for printing and supply issues during the 2022 statewide elections. Hamilton alleged that county officials moved forward without addressing the issues, citing a series of emails detailing the Maricopa County GOP raising concerns to then-Recorder Stephen Richer and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors’ Election Manager Scott Jarrett.
The post gained national attention when it was shared by X owner and de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk.
In the initial post Hamilton wrote, “Remember in 2022 when the nearly 70% of voting centers in Maricopa County failed on Election Day causing massive, long lines and voter disenfranchisement resulting in @KariLake and @AbrahamHamadeh barely losing? Maricopa County knew in advance their Election Day plan was set up for failure, and THEY LET IT FAIL!”
Hamilton noted that the emails were obtained for Strong Communities Action by The Gavel Project and civil rights activist and Arizona election attorney Ryan Heath saying, “Without his legal muscle we wouldn’t have secured it!”
In the thread that followed, Hamilton released several emails from then-Chairwoman of the Maricopa County Republican Committee Mickie Niland to Richer and Jarrett saying, “I remember hearing from Scott (Jarrett) at some point after the primary that there was a problem during the primary with some tabulators not reading correctly due to low ink. How long does it take you to get paper or ink to them if they run out? Is there a process for the voting locations to report when they are half out of paper? How far are the restocking trucks from the voting centers? Are you using the length of the lines to help you determine when more supplies are brought to the centers?“ She also asked if there was any way she could help.
Jarrett responded, “We’ve been monitoring turnout and are prepared,” adding that there was plenty of ballot paper and normal paper to print control slips as well as “sufficient toner and printer drums.”
Hamilton explained, “Several days ahead of Election Day, the Maricopa County GOP leadership warned Maricopa County that their Election Day plan would fail and disenfranchise voters. The Maricopa County BOS Election Director Scott Jarrett insisted everything would be fine saying he was ‘confident.’”
Niland, representing the Maricopa County GOP, even followed up with an email warning, “Trust is low and voting in person is the topic everyone wants to discuss with us. To us if you are basing your decisions off of history, we think things are different now.” Niland added, “Please consider this email the official raising of that flag.”
According to an investigation of the 2022 Maricopa County Election, former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor found that “many of the Oki B432 printers were not capable of reliably printing 20-inch ballots on 100-pound paper under election-day conditions.”
McGregor added, “The combined effect of the heavy paper, longer ballot, and intermittent burst of print demand pushed the printers to perform at the very edge of or past their capability, so that any decrease in fuser performance in an individual printer could result in problems.”
Replying to the post by Musk, Hamilton thanked the X owner for “bringing attention to this vital matter!” She also raised allegations that Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin has blocked newly elected County Recorder Justin Heap from accessing “the IT staff and responsibilities assigned to him in AZ law to secure and run our elections!”
Later in the afternoon, Maricopa County published a post to X that outlined the October 2024 agreement, which demarcated the election responsibilities of the Board of Supervisors and the Recorder’s Office. Galvin shared the post as well.
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.
by Matthew Holloway | Feb 15, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The 16 prominent Republicans prosecuted for their participation in creating an alternate Electoral College slate for the 2020 presidential election are one step closer to having their charges dismissed. Earlier this week, a Maricopa County Judge ruled that Attorney General Mayes may have been politically motivated to charge them.
On Monday, Maricopa County Judge Sam Myers ruled that the defendants successfully demonstrated that the charges against them could comprise an attack on what he deemed is “at least in part some arguably lawful speech.” This ruling could trigger a dismissal through Arizona’s Anti-SLAPP law, a statute designed to prevent legal action launched to suppress free speech. In the text of Arizona’s Anti-SLAPP law, the prosecution must now establish “the legal action on which the motion is based is justified by clearly established law and that the responding party did not act in order to deter, prevent or retaliate against the moving party’s exercise of constitutional rights.” As reported by Courthouse News, Judge Myers said that a statement from Arizona Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, while announcing the indictment of the 16 Republicans that “this should never happen again,” could potentially show a political motivation to the prosecution.
As the outlet noted, Arizona prosecutors led by Mayes, have 45 days from the date of the ruling to respond to the judge’s ruling and prove to the court that the charges were brought in order to enforce existing Arizona laws and not to suppress the freedom of speech under the First Amendment. Myers said he will rule on the motion to dismiss once he’s received and considered the response. Responding to the ruling, Mayes promised an appeal in a press release saying, “We disagree with this ruling, and we will pursue an appeal.” She reiterated her claim adding, “It is not the lawful exercise of free speech to file forged slates of electors to deprive Arizona voters of their right to vote.”
The defendants in the case include former AZGOP Chair Dr. Kelli Ward, Dr. Michael Ward, former executive director of the AZGOP Greg Safsten, former Arizona State Senator Anthony Kern, former Senate Candidate Jim Lamon, former Cochise County Republican Committee chair Robert Montgomery, former Cochise County Republican Committee chair Samuel Moorhead, Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman, Turning Point USA COO Tyler Bowyer, and attorneys John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, Christina Bobb, as well as President Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Campaign Aide Boris Epshteyn, and director of Election Day operations Mike Roman.
Following the ruling, Eastman posted to X, “Major ruling in the Arizona electors case this a.m. The new judge just ruled that I met the prima facie case required to dismiss under the anti-SLAPP statute — that is, 1st Amend. rights implicated, & substantial evid. that the prosecution was to retaliate or deter those rights.”
Eastman added, “Just to clarify. The AG now has to prove that she wasn’t motivated by desire to retaliate or deter 1A rights. Their brief is due March 25. The judge also rejected the AG’s claim that the anti-SLAPP statute is unconstitutional.”
Fellow defendant Dr. Kelli Ward explained on X, “The court found sufficient showing in the defense’s arguments to warrant moving to stage 2 of the process in AZ’s criminal anti-slapp statute. Now the state has to prove that this case was not politically motivated and they must show that they’re using established precedent and not interpreting the law in new ways.”
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.
by Staff Reporter | Feb 10, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap lacks key elections powers, thanks to late decisions by his predecessor and the former Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (BOS).
Reportedly, Heap is operating without a full budget, staff, IT support, access to county buildings, and confirmation of his deputy recorder selection. State lawmakers with the Arizona Freedom Caucus blamed BOS Chair Thomas Galvin for these ongoing limitations to Heap’s authority.
State Senator Jake Hoffman urged Maricopa County residents to contact Galvin over the changes.
“Supervisor Thomas Galvin has STRIPPED Recorder Justin Heap of his control over our Elections and is REFUSING to reinstate it,” said Hoffman.
Much of these developments occurred back in October, when the outgoing BOS members and former Recorder Stephen Richer approved changes to the powers of the recorder’s office. The changes took effect in December.
Under that agreement, the BOS assumed control over the recorder’s $5 million budget and IT staff.
Additionally, the BOS appoints the early ballot processing board. Prior to that agreement, the recorder oversaw early ballot processing.
In a statement issued at the time of the agreement, a county spokesperson said the county made changes to make the recorder’s office more efficient.
“In Arizona, elections are administered by the County Board of Supervisors and the County Recorder. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Recorder’s Office have had agreements in place to manage these administrative functions since the 1950s,” said the spokesperson. “The update to the current agreement will adjust administrative responsibilities to create efficiencies, most notably in Information Technology-related services.”
Ultimately, Arizona law empowers county boards of supervisors with authority over election administration.
Despite these limitations, Heap has continued to work around the restrictions on his position.
Last week, Heap announced his office’s policy change allowing bipartisan election observers into the signature verification room.
Heap has done more than that his first month in office. In an update issued on Friday, the recorder recapped other accomplishments from his first days: removing a record number of inactive voters from voter registration rolls, preparing for impending upgrades to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) process for military personnel on deployment, and eliminating the salaries and positions of six external communications officers to free up resources for elections databases and systems.
In that update, Heap addressed the allegations against Galvin and his predecessor. Heap disclosed that he anticipates a new agreement with the BOS will emerge soon reinstating his authority.
“I am currently working with the members of the Board of Supervisors to replace this agreement with one that serves the people and the mission they gave me to ensure future elections in Maricopa County are fully secure, efficiently operated and, above all, accurate. I am hopeful that we will have a new agreement in the near future that helps us all achieve those aims,” said Heap.
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