Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney issued a 12-page ruling last week returning Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap’s office to under his control. After Heap was voted into office in November 2024, but before he entered office in January 2025, the mostly outgoing Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) and outgoing recorder Stephen Richer executed an agreement transferring much of the Recorder’s office to the MCBOS.
The power grab took over the Recorder’s voter registration system, the BeBallotReady website, the Recorder’s servers, databases, websites and more. Represented by James Rogers of America First Legal, Heap sued the MCBOS earlier this year over the power grab.
“I am grateful to the court for this clear and decisive victory for the rule of law and for the voters of Maricopa County,” Heap responded to the ruling. “The court confirmed that the Board cannot override state law, use funding as leverage, or take control of election duties assigned to the Recorder. This ruling restores both the authority and the resources necessary for my office to do its job.”
Blaney said due to the severity of the MCBOS’ actions, Heap was not held to a higher standard of proof in order to get the injunction. “Because the Recorder has shown that the Board has acted unlawfully and exceeded its statutory authority by seizing the Recorder’s personnel, systems and equipment and refusing to return them to the Recorder’s control, the Recorder need not satisfy the standard for injunctive relief.”
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