{"id":2627147,"date":"2026-07-09T07:48:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-supreme-court-hands-recorder-heap-win-in-maricopa-elections-battle\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T07:52:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:52:33","slug":"arizona-supreme-court-hands-recorder-heap-win-in-maricopa-elections-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-supreme-court-hands-recorder-heap-win-in-maricopa-elections-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"AZ Supreme Court Hands Heap Win In Maricopa Elections Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Farizona-supreme-court-hands-recorder-heap-win-in-maricopa-elections-battle%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2627147&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>the Arizona Supreme Court delivered a significant victory for Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap by ruling to lift a stay that had blocked his election authority. The case stemmed from a dispute over the county board of supervisors&#8217; actions in April, which involved seizing Heap&#8217;s personnel, systems, and equipment-an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/letitia-james-sues-anti-immigration-group-for-misusing-charitable-funds-to-buy-west-virginia-castle\/\" title=\"Letitia James sues anti-immigration group for misusing charitable ...s to buy West Virginia castle\">action deemed unlawful<\/a> by a judge. The conflict originated after the outgoing recorder, Stephen Richer, entered into an agreement to reduce Heap\u2019s election responsibilities, transferring key duties and resources to the board of supervisors. Heap, upon taking office in January 2025, challenged this arrangement by filing a lawsuit, asserting his legal authority under arizona law.<\/p>\n<p>The court recognized Heap&#8217;s statutory rights and ordered the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to return control of election resources and staff to Heap prior to upcoming elections or to fund replacements. The Arizona Supreme Court criticized the appellate court\u2019s previous stay, asserting that it violated election principles by delaying necessary legal proceedings close to an election. The court also accepted a 12-point operational protocol to govern election procedures and ensure compliance ahead of the primary elections.<\/p>\n<p>Heap viewed the ruling as a decisive affirmation of the rule of law and stated that his office is prepared to implement the court\u2019s directives to conduct secure and lawful elections in Maricopa County.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Justin_Heap_(53953123170).jpg\">Gage Skidmore\/Wikimedia Commons\/<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/09\/arizona-supreme-court-hands-recorder-heap-win-in-maricopa-elections-battle\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Arizona Supreme Court Hands Recorder Heap Win In Maricopa Elections Battle&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/09\/arizona-supreme-court-hands-recorder-heap-win-in-maricopa-elections-battle\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Arizona Supreme Court Hands Recorder Heap Win In Maricopa Elections Battle&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/09\/arizona-supreme-court-hands-recorder-heap-win-in-maricopa-elections-battle\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/09\/arizona-supreme-court-hands-recorder-heap-win-in-maricopa-elections-battle\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Arizona Supreme Court Hands Recorder Heap Win In Maricopa Elections Battle&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/09\/arizona-supreme-court-hands-recorder-heap-win-in-maricopa-elections-battle\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Arizona Supreme Court handed Maricopa County Recorder <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/justin-heap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Justin Heap<\/a> a major victory on Tuesday in his ongoing battle to maintain his election responsibilities. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kjzz.org\/elections\/2026-07-07\/arizona-supreme-court-sides-with-maricopa-county-recorder-heap-in-election-fight\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new order<\/a>, the Grand Canyon State\u2019s highest court dissolved a stay (\u201cpause\u201d) issued by the Arizona Court of Appeals on an April ruling by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney. In his decision, Blaney <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/20\/arizona-judge-overrules-stephen-richers-election-power-grab-in-maricopa-county\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">determined<\/a> that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) \u201cacted unlawfully and exceeded its statutory authority by seizing [Heap\u2019s] personnel, systems and equipment and refusing to return them.\u201d <\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3625394087\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The entire dispute between Heap and the board can be traced back to a month before the 2024 elections, when then-outgoing Recorder <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/stephen-richer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stephen Richer<\/a> \u2014 a known opponent to election integrity efforts \u2014 struck a new Shared Services Agreement (SSA) with the MCBOS to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-judge-overrules-stephen-richers-election-power-grab-in-maricopa-county\/\" title=\"Judge Overrules Richer&#039;s ... Power Grab In ...\">effectively strip key election responsibilities<\/a> and resources from the recorder\u2019s office and give them to the board. As The Federalist previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/07\/a-battle-over-election-administration-is-brewing-in-arizonas-largest-county\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, this included giving the MCBOS control over Heap\u2019s IT staff and finances and a greater role in early voting, a process typically overseen by the recorder\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Upon entering office in January 2025, Heap attempted to negotiate a new SSA with the MCBOS to re-acquire his office\u2019s prior election powers. He ultimately <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/12\/exclusive-maricopa-recorder-sues-county-board-for-unlawful-seizure-of-election-powers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed a lawsuit<\/a> in June 2025 after months of resistance by the board.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In siding with Heap, Blaney recognized Heap\u2019s statutory authority to carry out the election responsibilities delegated to his office by Arizona law and that the MCBOS has a \u201cnondiscretionary duty to fund all necessary expenses of the Recorder\u201d as expressed in the current statute. He further required the MCBOS to return all IT staff and resources under the recorder\u2019s control prior to the October 2024 SSA to Heap or \u201cimmediately fund the replacement of these personnel and items\u201d so that he may execute his legal duties as recorder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A panel for the Arizona Court of Appeals <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kjzz.org\/elections\/2026-06-18\/arizona-appeals-court-blocks-maricopa-county-election-changes-ahead-of-july-21-primary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">paused<\/a> Blaney\u2019s order last month at the request of the MCBOS. The judges ruled that it violated the Purcell principle, a doctrine that says courts should avoid altering election rules too close to an election. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In lifting that stay, Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer ruled that the appellate court \u201cabused its discretion in entering the Stay Order.\u201d She further determined that \u201cthe statutory delegation of authority to \u2018the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ariz-state-senate-to-order-hand-recount-of-2-1m-ballots-cast-in-2020\/\" title=\"Ariz. State Senate to ... hand recount of 2.1M ballots cast in 2020\">county recorder<\/a> or other officer in charge of elections\u2019 is \u2018the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >general provision permitting designation<\/a> by the county recorder of another officer to exercise that function when necessary,&#8217;\u201d and rejected the MCBOS\u2019s argument that the legal text \u201cauthorizes \u2018the Board \u2026 [to] authorize the task to be performed by the Board appointed Maricopa County Elections Director.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[T]he Board cannot use budgetary authority to usurp an independently elected officer\u2019s statutory functions. And to the extent the Board may have attempted to do so, <em>Purcell<\/em> cannot now be invoked to permit it. Specifically, allowing the Board to appoint the officer would supplant the Legislature\u2019s direction that the Recorder perform this function,\u201d Timmer wrote. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Arizona Supreme Court additionally accepted a \u201c12-point interim operational protocol\u201d proposed by Heap to \u201cmodify the terms of the Stay Order and Injunction Orders in accordance with the protocol\u201d for the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-battle-for-control-of-missouris-redistricting-map\/\" title=\"Republicans Battle for Control of Missouri\u2019s Redistricting Map\">upcoming primary elections<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a new <a href=\"https:\/\/recorder.maricopa.gov\/news\/MonumentalVictory.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>, Heap heralded the high court\u2019s decision as a \u201cdecisive victory for the rule of law.\u201d He further indicated that his office \u201cis ready to implement the Court\u2019s order and deliver secure, lawful, and professional elections for the people of Maricopa County.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/arizona\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Arizona<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/arizona-supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Arizona Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/court-ruling\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">court ruling<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-rules\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election rules<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/information-technology\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">information technology<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/justin-heap\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Justin Heap<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/maricopa-county\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Maricopa County<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/maricopa-county-board-of-supervisors\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Maricopa County Board of Supervisors<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/stephen-richer\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Stephen Richer<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arizona Supreme Court rules in favor of Maricopa Recorder<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2627148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Justin-Heap.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4472,6571,32523,32275],"class_list":["post-2627147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-arizona","tag-elections","tag-maricopa-county","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Justin-Heap.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2627147"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2627155,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627147\/revisions\/2627155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2627148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2627147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2627147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2627147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}