The legal battle over who controls Maricopa County elections

The primary season is quickly approaching, and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chair Kate Brophy McGee (R) and County Recorder Justin Heap (R) are still working to resolve a legal battle over who controls the County’s elections. McGee joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss these legal battles and what they mean for upcoming elections.

The week of March 2, 2026, the board voted to give Recorder Heap control of early in-person voting, one of the Recorder’s demands that led him to file a lawsuit against the board last summer. That includes administering locations where Maricopa County voters can cast their ballots in the weeks before Election Day.

McGee and Vice Chair Debbie Lesko offered to coordinate early in-person voting with the Recorder for the upcoming primary election. However, Recorder Heap said he has “serious concerns” about the plans the board sent over, according to a letter released by his office. Heap said those plans included too many locations in places like Tempe and the West Valley, and too few locations in Mesa and other regions. A statement released by the Recorder’s office included a map of potential early voting sites that illustrated this disparity.

“What’s important is to understand that it’s political posturing on Mr. Heap’s part,” McGee said. “We’re focused as a board on conducting elections in which voters can participate wholeheartedly and feel very confident of the outcomes.”

According to McGee, the outrage on social media by many individuals was in regard to the selection of early voting sites. Many people misinterpreted it as being a voting plan or an election plan; it was not.

“It was simply an invitation from us and our elections department,” McGee explained, “to participate in this selection of sites for Election Day and include the Recorder’s office for early in-person voting; we are finalizing early in-person voting sites, along with our election sites.”