🚨MARICOPA COUNTY ALERT —
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appears to be attempting to undermine a court order, usurp Recorder Justin Heap’s authority, and keep voters in the dark about a faster way to vote.
AFL’s letter exposes what’s happening.
And it’s explosive.
The Board’s Elections Director, Scott Jarrett, has been going around Recorder Heap — cornering individual Recorder staff one-on-one and trying to lock in deals the recorder never authorized.
That’s not “good faith.”
That’s staff-shopping — and a deliberate attempt to manufacture facts on the ground and usurp authority the Superior Court just ruled belongs to the Recorder.
Recorder Heap has been crystal clear.
All binding agreements on election administration must go through him or his lawyer.
No more backdoor power grabs.
Everything goes through official channels.
The court already made clear in its ruling that the Recorder is in charge of early voting and ballot replacement sites.
But the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors does not accept this and has tried to keep control of these sites.
Its Election Director, Scott Jarrett, told staff at those sites that they report to him — and that the site managers Recorder Heap sent to run each site were just “observers” who should be ignored.
This is UNLAWFUL.
Any early voting site not under Recorder Heap’s direct management and control is operating ILLEGALLY.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors knows this.
They just don’t care.
But here’s what the Board doesn’t want voters to know…
A new Arizona law, A.R.S. § 16-579(A)(4), allows voters to:
1️⃣ Drop off their early ballot
2️⃣ Show ID
3️⃣ Get an “ID Verified” stamp
This avoids later signature verification on the envelopes.
That means faster processing, cheaper administration, and more secure election results.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors’ Elections Department HID this option from poll workers and tried to stop Recorder Heap’s staff from posting signs or telling voters they could get their ballots ID-verified.
Why?
Because it proves restoring authority to the Recorder actually works for voters.
On May 15, 2026, Recorder staff discovered that poll workers at the Tempe ballot replacement site had zero instructions about the new ID option and no signage.
At Recorder Heap’s direction, they fixed it.
What was the Board’s response?
It instructed poll workers to ignore the Recorder’s site managers and call them “observers.”
Here’s the bottom line…
The Superior Court gave early voting and ballot replacement sites back to the elected Recorder.
The Board isn’t just creating confusion — they’re defying a binding court order.
Our letter puts them on final notice.
Stop the unlawful behavior, or we’ll go back to court for contempt and sanctions.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors isn’t fighting for “good government.”
They’re fighting to keep power they were never supposed to have in the first place — even if it means slowing down elections and hiding better voting options from the public.
The Board can comply with the law…
Or they can explain to a judge why they chose to ignore a court order.
Voters deserve better.
Arizonans deserve secure elections.
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