PHOENIX - With early voting in the midterm primaries starting in just four months, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors wants to coordinate with the Recorder's Office despite ongoing differences.
"We need to start working together very quickly on the various duties that both the recorder and the elections department execute," board Chair Kate Brophy McGee told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Feb. 24.
Brophy McGee made those comments the same day she and Vice Chair Debbie Lesko sent Republican Recorder Justin Heap a letter about coordinating on early in-person voting efforts.
"We have worked on this in the election side for many years and so we have an established model and we would like to cooperate with him in administering early in-person voting. So, that was the gist of our letter. He has stated in court that he is willing to cooperate on logistical issues, and we'd like to get started," Brophy McGee said.
On Feb. 25, the Republican-led board approved a requested budget increase of $550,000 for the Recorder's Office's signature verification efforts.
Election duties are split between county supervisors and recorders under state law, but Heap and the board have been unable to reach a deal on a Shared Services Agreement since he took office in January 2025.
Heap appeared under oath before the board on Feb. 19 to provide a report about a variety of election-related topics, including the signature verification system he initiated.
That meeting ended with the board voting 5-0 in favor of a resolution declaring its policy position in the absence of a detailed, negotiated agreement with Heap. The resolution said Heap was free to request funding increases.
"Signature verification is under the complete and total control of the recorder," Brody McGee said in a press release announcing the $550,000 budget increase. "While we have questions about the recorder's new process, we will proceed with the recorder's budget requests to ensure sufficient resources are in place by the 2026 primary. Our top goal is fair and secure elections."
Early voting for the July 21 primary elections begins on June 24.
"He has specified that he must oversee early in-person voting. So, we have written to him and asked him about how he proposes going about that," Brophy McGee told KTAR News.
The board operates Election Day voting. Brophy McGee said Heap has not yet specified how he will secure and operate early voting sites, which then become Election Day sites.
"Our elections director has reached out to him with email of very specific items that he needs to decide on very quickly in order to keep early in-person voting service at its historic levels," she said.
The supervisors asked Heap to respond to their letter about early voting by Feb. 27. They said they will assume he can manage in-person voting without their help if he doesn't respond.