by Matthew Holloway | Apr 27, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Maricopa County Supervisor Mark Stewart is hoping the latest Shared Services Agreement (SSA) approved unanimously this week by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors wins approval by Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap.
In a statement, Stewart wrote, “Yesterday, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to send a new draft of the Shared Services Agreement (SSA) concerning election responsibilities to Maricopa County Recorder, Justin Heap. This updated draft incorporates feedback from the Recorder’s Office. To be clear, this is not the final version of the SSA. The Recorder will now have the opportunity to review the document, propose additional revisions, and return it to the Board for further consideration.
He added, “Based on my discussions with Recorder Heap and members of the Board, we are 95% of the way towards finalizing the SSA. I am more optimistic about this process than at any point previously and am confident that we will reach a signed agreement in the near future.”
Board Chairman Thomas Galvin wrote in a statement Thursday, “For months, the Board and its staff have been negotiating details of a new SSA in good faith. It’s time the public knows the full story, and this latest agreement includes many concessions from our Board.”
In a statement released the same day, and later retracted, shared by several outlets, Heap wrote, “The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors presentation today was one side of an ongoing negotiation. Recorder Heap disagrees with some statements that were made; however, his focus remains on getting an elections agreement in place that best serves the voters of Maricopa County. The agreement put forth by the Board today represents the framework of a deal, but the devil is in the details, and those details still need to be ironed out. Recent delays in the negotiation stem from the Recorder’s need to secure more adequate counsel.
“With the appointment of former Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould to assist in the negotiations, Recorder Heap anticipates and looks forward to a successful resolution and agreement in the near future.”
Under Arizona law, the responsibility for the management of elections falls between the County Boards of Supervisors and County Recorders. Ostensibly Shared Service Agreements delineate the responsibilities of each body to increase efficiency and prevent unnecessary spending.
Supervisor Debbie Lesko expressed herself as being “beyond frustrated,” with the process saying, “After the April 11th meeting between Recorder Heap and Supervisors Galvin and Brophy-McGee, Justin texted me saying the meeting ‘went very well, we seem to be in agreement on 95% and are only discussing minor details on how to effectively split the IT team.’ Our lawyer writes up the agreement based on the meeting and then, next thing I know, Justin fires his attorney and we seem to be back to square one.”
Supervisor Kate Brophy McGee laid the difficulties directly at the feat of the County Recorder saying, “Recorder Heap has not been a trustworthy partner in these negotiations. He doesn’t seem to know what he wants. He doesn’t seem to understand his statutory responsibilities. The only thing he seems to be really good at is threatening lawsuits. But there’s time for him to change. He can come back to the table and sign this agreement. I hope he does. Successful elections in Maricopa County depend on it.”
As of this report Recorder Heap has not released a revised statement, nor explained why the initial statement was taken down.
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 | 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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