2026 Election: Maricopa County battle grows amid escalating feud between officials
Maricopa Co. election feud grows as primary nears
County Recorder Justin Heap and the Board of Supervisors are locked in a feud election matters. Meanwhile, a judge is hoping the dispute can be resolved out of the courtroom. FOX 10's Megan Spector reports.
PHOENIX - An escalating legal battle over election authority in Maricopa County is intensifying, with the primary election just weeks away and early ballots set to be mailed out in just over a week.
"The last place this court wants to be is standing between elected officials right before an election," Judge Scott Blaney said.
The backstory:
The dispute stems from a lawsuit Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap filed, claiming the county's Board of Supervisors seized control of elections by stripping his office of its traditional election duties.
In April, a judge agreed with Heap, but Heap’s lawyer says the board is ignoring that order.
"None of the IT assets or personnel have been returned to the recorder. Control over early voting has not been returned to the recorder," said James Rogers, the attorney representing Heap.
This feud over control intensified after Heap filed an emergency motion in court, claiming the board referred Recorder’s Office employees for a criminal investigation. The motion came after Heap’s staff was caught on camera removing a ballot scanner from an election facility.
"This is a piece of equipment for early voting. It, of necessity, belongs to the recorder by virtue of the court’s order as well," Rogers said.
The dispute was referred to the county attorney, who assigned a special prosecutor due to a conflict of interest in representing both the supervisors and the recorder.
The attorney representing the Board of Supervisors fiercely denied targeting Heap's staff, accusing Heap's legal team of fabricating the claims.
"Completely invented facts like the board made a criminal referral. That’s false. That’s absolutely false and there is no evidence that it's true," said Kory Langhofer, the attorney representing the board majority.
Dig deeper:
It is an ongoing tug-of-war about how this dispute can be settled.
"What our proposal has always been is that the chair, vice chair and Mr. Heap sit down and have a conversation that is recorded," Langhofer said. "We can do a court recorder. We can do a live stream. Just something that people are having an honest conversation held to what they commit to later on."
The other side:
Heap has declined those requests.
"Recorder Heap has declined those requests because generally, people meeting in front of the board have turned into situations where the board grandstands," Rogers said. "He’s been yelled at and called a liar by board members on these recorded meetings. It didn’t seem like a productive thing. I think mediation would be a much better option."
In a statement, Heap said "The Recorder’s Office is ready to deploy early ballots and anticipates their delivery without any challenges. The ongoing uncertainty has been created by the Board’s continued illegal seizure of the Recorder’s duties, and refusal to comply with both the law and rulings of the Court."
What's next:
The judge hopes this can be resolved outside the courtroom before voters head to the polls.
"Please keep talking to each other. I know it would be a miracle if this thing resolved outside a court, but miracles are still possible," Blaney said.
The judge set an evidentiary hearing for later in June. He also said he was going to either order that the parties get together, or get them in front of a judicial settlement conference.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Judge Scott Blaney, James Rogers, and Kory Langhofer.