What Just Happened?
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to approve a $20+ million settlement that creates two separate election systems run by competing authorities.
Why It Matters: This is unprecedented. Your county now has:
- Two IT systems for elections
- Two chains of command
- An election official coordinating with the Trump DOJ while suing his own county
- Armed sheriff’s deputies showing up at election workers’ homes
The Money: $15 million for Recorder Heap’s new IT system, funded by you—the taxpayer.
The Funders: Stephen Miller’s America First Legal (Trump’s former deputy chief of staff) paid for Heap’s lawsuit. How much? They won’t say.
The Warning: Only one supervisor voted no. Steve Gallardo said: “This is not the last of it.”
THE FULL STORY: A YEAR OF CONSTITUTIONAL CHAOS
Part 1: The October 2024 Power Grab
August 6, 2024: Stephen Richer, the incumbent Maricopa County Recorder, loses the Republican primary to Justin Heap.
October 18, 2024: Two and a half months before leaving office, Richer signs a new “Shared Services Agreement” with the Board of Supervisors. This agreement—never publicly discussed with incoming Recorder Heap—takes effect December 10, 2024, and strips the newly elected official of:
- All IT staff
- Election servers
- Control over voter registration
- Early voting operations
- Mail ballot processing
- Drop box management
This is not normal. In American democracy, defeated officials don’t get to rewrite the rules to bind their successors. But that’s exactly what happened.
Part 2: Heap Fights Back—With Outside Money
January 2025: Justin Heap takes office and rejects the Richer agreement. He wants the powers Arizona law gives county recorders.
June 13, 2025: Heap files a lawsuit against the Board of Supervisors. His lawyers? America First Legal—founded by Stephen Miller, Donald Trump’s former deputy chief of staff and the architect of the “travel ban.”
America First Legal is not a regular law firm. It’s a conservative litigation factory that takes on election cases nationwide. AFL paid for Heap’s entire lawsuit. How much? They refuse to disclose.
Part 3: The Legal War
April 16, 2026: Judge Scott Blaney rules for Heap. Orders the Board to return election functions to the Recorder.
May-June 2026: 43 days of contempt. Heap says the Board is ignoring the court order. The Board appeals.
July 7, 2026: Arizona Supreme Court unanimously rules for Heap. The Board must comply.
July 14, 2026: Just seven days later, the Board votes 3-1 to approve a settlement. Not to comply with the court order—to settle.
THE SETTLEMENT: WHAT YOU’RE PAYING FOR
Two Election Systems, Not One
The settlement creates parallel infrastructures:
Recorder Heap controls:
- Voter registration database
- Early in-person voting (NEW—was Board’s)
- Mail voting operations (NEW—was Board’s)
- Drop box locations (with Board setting maximum number)
- His own IT system ($15 million)
- His own IT staff
Board of Supervisors keeps:
- Precinct boundaries
- Ballot preparation
- Election Day voting at polls
- Emergency voting
- Ballot counting and tabulation
- Certification votes
The Price Tag
| Cost | Amount | Who Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Heap’s IT system | $15,000,000 | Maricopa County taxpayers |
| New early voting staff | $5,000,000+ | Maricopa County taxpayers |
| Total settlement cost | $20,000,000+ | Maricopa County taxpayers |
| Heap’s legal fees | UNDISCLOSED | America First Legal (Stephen Miller) |
| Board’s legal fees | UNDISCLOSED | Maricopa County taxpayers |
Why don’t you know the legal fees? Because neither America First Legal nor the Board’s attorney (Kory Langhofer) has disclosed them.
RED FLAGS: WHAT THE HEADLINES DIDN’T TELL YOU
Red Flag #1: Armed Intimidation on Settlement Day
On July 14, 2026—the same day as the settlement vote—armed sheriff’s deputies showed up at the homes of multiple Recorder’s Office employees. They informed these election workers they were under criminal investigation.
Heap filed an emergency court motion calling this “lies” by the Board.
Think about that: Armed law enforcement targeting election workers on the day the Board votes on a settlement with their boss. The timing is… remarkable.
Red Flag #2: The Attorney Who Negotiated AND Justified
Kory Langhofer (the Board’s lawyer) had three roles:
- Defended the Board against Heap’s lawsuit
- Negotiated the settlement that cost $20M+
- Wrote the official Board report defending the settlement
He negotiated the deal, then wrote the report saying it was a good deal. That’s not independent analysis. That’s circular reasoning.
Red Flag #3: The Emergency Vote
Seven days. That’s all the time between the Supreme Court ruling and the Board’s $20 million vote. They called it an “emergency”—but this case had been going on for 13 months. There was no new crisis. The only thing that changed was the Board lost in court.
Emergency procedures let them skip normal public review. Convenient.
Red Flag #4: Coordinating With the Feds While Suing the County
While Heap was suing Maricopa County, he was also “directly corresponding with the DOJ” about election records and litigation. That’s according to documents obtained by American Oversight.
Translation: Heap was coordinating with the Trump administration’s Department of Justice about investigations into his own county’s elections.
Now he’s getting $15 million to build his own IT system. What could go wrong?
Red Flag #5: The Board Member Who Knows Something
Steve Gallardo (District 5) was the only NO vote on the 3-1 decision. He called Heap “hyperpartisan” and said:
“This is not the last of it.”
Gallardo has served on this Board since 2013. He’s seen a lot. When he’s worried, you should be too.
Red Flag #6: “I Am Not Required to Trust Heap”
That’s what Supervisor Kate Brophy McGee said after voting YES. Let that sink in: She voted to give $15 million and parallel election authority to someone she explicitly doesn’t trust.
What changed? In June 2025, she called Heap’s lawsuit “absurd.” In July 2026, she voted for the settlement. The only difference: The Supreme Court forced her hand.
WHO BENEFITS?
Justin Heap
- Gets $15 million IT system
- Gets parallel election authority
- Gets to coordinate with the Trump DOJ without Board oversight
America First Legal
- Establishes precedent for challenging centralized election administration
- Gets “proof of concept” for county-level election fights
- Potential future contracts/consulting if Heap’s model spreads
Kory Langhofer
- Gets paid by Maricopa County taxpayers to:
- Defend the Board against Heap
- Negotiate settlement with Heap
- Write report defending the settlement
The Vendors (Whoever They Are)
- $15 million IT contract
- No public bidding records available
- Potential connections to supervisors (see below)
Who Doesn’t Benefit?
- Maricopa County voters — Now have fragmented election administration
- Election workers — Had armed deputies show up at their homes
- Taxpayers — $20M+ for a system that creates security risks
WHAT WE STILL DON’T KNOW
The Legal Fees (Critical Gap)
- How much did America First Legal spend on Heap’s lawsuit?
- How much are Maricopa County taxpayers paying Kory Langhofer?
- Neither will say.
The October 2024 Agreement
- Who negotiated the Richer agreement on the Board’s side?
- Was it publicly noticed before execution?
- Did Heap know about it before taking office?
The IT System
- Who are the vendors?
- Was there competitive bidding?
- Does Supervisor Mark Stewart (who voted YES) have business relationships with potential vendors?
The DOJ Coordination
- What exactly did Heap tell the Department of Justice?
- Did AFL coordinate this federal outreach?
- Is the new $15M system being built with federal input?
The Armed Deputies
- Who authorized the July 14 operation?
- What was the investigation about?
- Why the same day as the settlement vote?
THE REAL QUESTIONS
1. Why Did the Board Fight This for 13 Months?
The Board spent over a year and untold taxpayer dollars fighting Heap in court—then settled seven days after losing at the Supreme Court. Why not settle earlier? What did they gain from the delay?
2. Why Is Stephen Miller’s Group Funding Arizona Election Lawsuits?
America First Legal isn’t from Arizona. Why did a national Trump-world organization spend unknown sums on a local Maricopa County dispute? What’s the national strategy?
3. Why Parallel Systems?
No other Arizona county runs two separate election IT systems. Why is Maricopa creating an unprecedented fragmented infrastructure?
4. Why Emergency Procedures?
The Board had 13 months. Why did they need seven days and emergency powers to approve a $20 million settlement?
5. What Does Gallardo Know?
Steve Gallardo voted no and warned this isn’t over. What information did he have that the other three supervisors ignored?
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Security Risks (High Confidence)
The parallel system creates:
- Conflicting authority — Election Day confusion about who is in charge
- Data fragmentation — Voter rolls potentially out of sync between systems
- Insider threat — One administrator with independent IT coordinating with federal investigators
- No clear incident response — Who handles a security breach? It’s unclear.
November 2026 Midterms (Critical)
This November, Maricopa County will run an election on:
- Two separate IT systems
- Two competing chains of command
- One administrator who doesn’t trust the other
- Zero public trust in the process
This is not a recipe for smooth elections.
WHAT CITIZENS CAN DO
File Public Records Requests
Priority Requests:
- America First Legal contracts and billing with Recorder’s Office
- Kory Langhofer/Statecraft PLLC invoices to Maricopa County
- Sheriff’s Office incident reports for July 14, 2026
- DOJ communications with Heap (FOIA request)
Contact:
- Maricopa County Clerk: clerk@maricopa.gov
- Sheriff’s Office: publicrecords@mcsosheriff.org
- Recorder’s Office: publicrecords@recorder.maricopa.gov
Attend Board Meetings
The Board meets regularly. Show up. Ask questions:
- Why was this handled as an emergency?
- Who are the IT vendors?
- How much were the legal fees?
- Why did only Gallardo vote no?
Meeting info: maricopa.gov/324/Board-of-Supervisors-Meeting-Information
Demand Answers
Contact your supervisor:
| District | Supervisor | Phone | Why Ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Stewart | (602) 506-7567 | Business conflicts? |
| 2 | Thomas Galvin (Chair) | (602) 506-7573 | Emergency justification? |
| 3 | Kate Brophy McGee | (602) 506-7576 | Why the reversal? |
| 4 | Debbie Lesko | (602) 506-7572 | Why yes vote? |
| 5 | Steve Gallardo | (602) 506-7575 | What do you know? |
Support Document Preservation
Given the July 14 armed incident and emergency vote, demand the Board preserve:
- All settlement negotiation records
- Langhofer billing documents
- Sheriff’s Office July 14 communications
- Heap-AFL communications
CONCLUSION: THIS ISN’T OVER
Steve Gallardo was right. This isn’t over. In fact, it’s just beginning.
What happened here is bigger than one settlement. It’s a playbook:
- Use lame-duck power to strip authority from incoming elected officials
- Fund litigation with outside dark money
- Drag out the case for months or years
- Settle quickly after losing in court, using emergency powers
- Create parallel systems that fragment authority
- Build independent infrastructure with taxpayer money
- Coordinate with federal allies while suing locally
This isn’t just about Maricopa County. If this model succeeds, expect to see it in other swing counties, other swing states.
The question isn’t whether this will happen again. The question is: Where next?
APPENDIX: TIMELINE
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Aug 6, 2024 | Richer loses primary to Heap |
| Oct 18, 2024 | Richer signs SSA with lame-duck Board |
| Dec 10, 2024 | SSA takes effect, strips incoming Heap |
| Jan 2025 | Heap takes office, rejects SSA |
| June 13, 2025 | Heap sues Board (AFL represents) |
| Jan 26, 2026 | Langhofer advocates settlement; Brophy McGee opposes publicly |
| Apr 16, 2026 | Judge Blaney rules for Heap |
| May-Jun 2026 | 43-day contempt crisis |
| Jul 7, 2026 | AZ Supreme Court rules for Heap |
| Jul 14, 2026 | Armed deputies target election workers; Board votes 3-1 on settlement |
| Jul 15, 2026 | Settlement announced publicly |
SOURCES
- Votebeat: “Maricopa County officials settle lawsuit, resolving election dispute” (July 15, 2026)
- AZ Mirror: “Heap prevails at Arizona Supreme Court” (July 7, 2026)
- Heap Recorder website: “Monumental Victory” (July 8, 2026)
- America First Legal press releases (July 8, 15, 2026)
- ABC15: “Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Recorder Justin Heap settle election fight” (July 15, 2026)
- All Voting is Local: “Justin Heap named most dangerous election denier in Arizona”
- AZ Mirror: “Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap discussed election records, litigation with feds” (April 14, 2026)
- Votebeat: “The feds are going after the nation’s biggest election battleground” (April 14, 2026)
- Heap Recorder: “Emergency Court Intervention” (July 14, 2026)
- Maricopa County court filings: Majority Report (June 25, 2026)
- EZ Civics: “Maricopa County’s New chairwoman clashes with her attorney” (January 26, 2026)
This report was compiled from public records and open-source research.
Questions? File a public records request.
Concerned? Attend the next Board meeting.
Angry? Good. Stay that way until you get answers.
