By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A legal fight between the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and County Recorder Justin Heap is intensifying after allegations involving election equipment and a criminal investigation into Recorder’s Office employees.
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Heap filed an emergency motion in Superior Court after he said armed sheriff’s deputies went to the homes of multiple Recorder’s Office employees and informed them they were under criminal investigation.
According to a statement from Heap’s office, the workers did nothing wrong and were trying to use equipment that belongs to the Recorder’s Office.
In a direct response to the allegations, the Board of Supervisors disagreed, saying the equipment was controlled by the county Elections Department.
Scanner dispute
According to a statement from the Board, the incident under investigation happened on March 12 while election results were being counted for the Tempe Jurisdictional Election.
The Board alleged security cameras showed two Recorder’s Office employees taking a pre-tabulation scanner from the Maricopa County Election and Tabulation Center, putting it in the back of an unmarked pickup truck and driving away.
The employees reportedly brought the scanner back about 50 minutes later. Officials said it is not clear what happened to the scanner during that time.
After that, Maricopa County Human Resources opened an internal review to see if any county rules were broken. The Board said the Recorder’s Office did not take part in that review.
As part of that review, officials said they found one employee had previously been told the scanner was controlled by the Elections Department.
Investigators also found that the same employee removed what appeared to be several provisional ballot affidavit envelopes from a secure area of the tabulation center, according to the Board. Officials said those envelopes may have had live ballots inside, raising concerns about ballot security.
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Investigators could not determine what happened to the envelopes while they were gone. However, officials said a count the following day found all ballots and envelopes were accounted for.
The scanner was later replaced because county officials believed it had been compromised. The replacement cost about $70,000, according to the Board.
Allegations of targeting
After the internal review, county leaders contacted the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for legal advice. The Board said MCAO reviewed the case and appointed an outside counsel to decide whether any crime had occurred.
Heap called the investigation unfair and accused the Board of targeting his employees.
“The targeting of my staff is completely unacceptable,” Heap said. “No public employee should fear being threatened with criminal investigation for attempting to carry out a court-ordered responsibility.”
In his emergency motion, Heap is asking the court to step in, order the return of disputed equipment, stop what he called retaliatory actions against Recorder’s Office personnel and ensure compliance with prior court orders before the 2026 Primary Election.
The first ballots are set to go out on June 24.
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