Maricopa County Supervisors’ Plans To Oust Recorder Justin Heap Exposed as One Supervisor Breaks Ranks

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors — a “Republican”-led body that has long defended the county’s notoriously troubled election system — is ramping up its assault on duly elected County Recorder Justin Heap, a conservative who campaigned on restoring trust in Arizona’s most critical election office.

The latest escalation? A February 12 vote by the BOS to force Heap to testify under oath about his office operations, budget requests, and explosive claims that supervisors have disenfranchised voters in their ongoing war over election control. Refusal could trigger state law allowing the board to remove the elected recorder and install their own handpicked replacement — just months before critical 2026 primaries and midterms.

Critics claim this maneuver isn’t oversight, but an undemocratic coup against the will of Maricopa County voters who overwhelmingly rejected the old regime and elected Heap in 2024 to clean house after years of tabulation failures, signature verification scandals, and drop-box controversies that made the county a national punchline for election incompetence.

The CORRUPT Maricopa County, AZ Board of Supervisors is attempting to throw the duly elected County Recorder out of office for refusing to go along with their corruption!

UniParty Stephen Richer (former Recorder) is posturing like he knows he'll be appointed if they're… https://t.co/UT8rvIEPx7

— Jake Hoffman (@JakeHoffmanAZ) February 14, 2026

Heap, a vocal advocate for election integrity, immediately moved upon taking office in January 2025 to revoke a shady “Shared Services Agreement” (SSA) secretly inked by lame-duck Recorder Stephen Richer (whom Heap crushed in the GOP primary) and outgoing supervisors. That deal stripped the Recorder’s office of core statutory duties, staff, and resources — effectively neutering the elected official voters chose to secure ballots. In an earlier statement, Heap charged, “good faith negotiations have not been possible with a Board who puts personal vendettas and unhinged political gamesmanship above the wishes of the voters.”

Heap sued to reclaim his lawful authority under Arizona statutes. The BOS countersued.

In a notable win for Heap, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ruled on January 30, 2026, that Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell could not block America First Legal (AFL) from representing Heap or force him to use county-provided counsel. The court dismissed Mitchell’s separate suit attempting to control Heap’s legal team, clearing the way for the main lawsuit to proceed without interference on representation. AFL described this as a “major victory” that defeated a “power grab” and allowed the election integrity claims against the BOS to advance.

Enter Supervisor Mark Stewart (District 1), who on Monday broke publicly from his colleagues’ tactics. In an announcement, Stewart declared he is retaining independent counsel “to advocate for transparency, integrity, and a common-sense path forward” in resolving the SSA dispute.

“Since early 2025, I’ve been clear in meetings and in writing that the county should return to the Recorder’s prior responsibilities,” Stewart stated. He slammed the failure to negotiate a fair agreement in 2025 as the reason taxpayers are now footing extra legal bills and explicitly rejected any move to oust Heap. “I oppose any attempt to remove the Recorder,” he emphasized, calling for restoration of Heap’s baseline duties as a starting point for honest negotiations.

Stewart’s move is a rare crack in the Board of Supervisors — and a direct rebuke to Chair Kate Brophy McGee, Supervisors Debbie Lesko, Thomas Galvin, and Democrat Steve Gallardo, who have painted Heap as “unreliable, unprofessional, untruthful, and unaccountable” for daring to demand the authority voters entrusted him with.

Congressman Abe Hamadeh (AZ-08) didn’t mince words in condemning the power grab: “Any attempt to oust the duly elected Maricopa County Recorder without a direct vote of the people… will be seen as nothing less than an undemocratic coup — and irrefutable proof of deep corruption.” Hamadeh noted the board showed zero interest in removing previous recorders despite far worse scandals, including conflicts of interest and alleged violations of election law.

The timing is no coincidence. Heap’s office recently used the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to identify 60 non-citizens who had previously voted in Maricopa County — a bombshell underscoring exactly why voters sent him to office. The BOS, which seized $10 million+ from his budget and control of key election infrastructure, wants him neutered before he can fully expose and fix the rot. This directly ties into his broader push for clean voter rolls, including settlements with groups like AFL to verify citizenship status and prevent non-citizen participation.

Upon his election, Heap authorized the removal of  242,000 voters listed as “inactive” in the state’s voter registration database.

“The voters who elected me have spoken loud and clear,” Heap said in a written statement. “I promised to make cleaning the voter rolls a Day One priority in this office, and we’re taking swift action to deliver on that promise.”

Stewart’s independent counsel and public stand for restoring the Recorder’s statutory role offer a glimmer of sanity. But the rest of the board’s obsession with removing Heap underscores what Arizona conservatives have long suspected: even in a red county, the establishment will stop at nothing to silence reformers who threaten the status quo.