The Supervisory Board overseeing Arizona’s largest county is unlawfully withholding essential resources from local Republican election officials that are crucial for executing their legally required responsibilities, as stated in a lawsuit filed on Thursday.
The legal action, initiated by Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, accuses the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) of “refusing to allocate the necessary funds to the recorder.” The lawsuit asserts, “Arizona law is unequivocal. Congress has delegated authority.” To the recorder and numerous responsibilities for election management, not the Supervisory Board, making it obligatory for the Board to finance the recorder’s duties.
Heap is being represented in this matter by America First Legal.
The dispute between Heap and the Maricopa County Commission dates back to January.
A few weeks after his defeat in the July 2024 primary, and with Heap winning the November general election, then-recorder Stephen Richer — a known opponent of election integrity initiatives — signed a New Shared Service Agreement (SSA). As previously reported by The Federalist, the new contract effectively removed key election management responsibilities and resources from the recorder’s office, shifting control to the Board of Supervisors.
Despite months of negotiations aimed at renegotiating the SSA and reclaiming the powers and resources that were previously under his office’s control, Heap was unable to reach an agreement with the board, leading to the lawsuit filed on Thursday.
[READ: A Battle Over Election Administration Is Brewing In Arizona’s Largest County]
In his legal challenge, the GOP Recorder contends that current Arizona election laws “grant exclusive authority for certain election administration duties only to county recorders or a committee of county supervisors.”
“But in over 100 locations,” he asserted.
“Arizona’s election law thus designates authority to ‘county recorders or other officials responsible for elections’ at 111 locations, while at 16 locations it ‘designates the county board of supervisors or other officials responsible for elections or ‘election managers,'” the lawsuit states. “This significant imbalance illustrates that Congress intended for primary election authority and responsibility to be primarily held by recorders, particularly regarding early voting and mail-in voting.”
Heap further argued, “The BOS claims that it is fulfilling its mandatory legal obligations while refusing to provide [his] necessary expenses, as evidenced by the voting and discussion regarding the interim budget for fiscal year 2026, which did not cover all costs required for implementing [his] office functions.” He insisted that “the BOS has therefore failed to meet its legal obligations without any discretion.”
“As the Maricopa County recorder, the plaintiff is entitled to manage the early voting duties entrusted to him by law and has a vested interest in exercising such responsibilities,” the lawsuit states. “By refusing to provide adequate funding to meet other lawful obligations, the BOS has unlawfully deprived Recorder Heap of the rights associated with his office.”
Heap is seeking a declarative judgment in Maricopa County Superior Court, stating that “the BOS is obligated to fund all necessary expenses for recorders as specified in state law,” alongside an order requiring the board to comply. He has also requested an injunction preventing BOS from denying any necessary expenses related to the recorder’s office and prohibiting any “escape” from the Board’s “unlawful conduct.”
Heap v. Maricopa County – Complaints by
Federalists
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Sean Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of Mary Washington University. He previously worked as a state content writer for the National Treaty, and his articles have been featured in various outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @shawnfleetwood
Source: thefederalist.com