Maricopa County’s election IT fight isn’t about IT. It’s about democracy.

Recorder Justin Heap has already used sensitive voter data to push misleading narratives about noncitizen voting

By Juan Mendez | May 12, 2026

Democracy in Maricopa County is dangerously close to falling into the hands of a partisan actor with direct ties to President Donald Trump’s election conspiracy machine.

On April 17, the Maricopa County Superior Court issued a landmark ruling that could hand Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap total control over our election IT infrastructure. While the court may see this as a narrow legal interpretation of the recorder’s powers, the community must recognize the moral and security stakes.

This is not a dry dispute over staffing; it is a fight for the keys to our democracy.

Thanks to investigative reporting from Votebeat, the mask has slipped. Heap’s private communications reveal a man less interested in administrative efficiency and more focused on “full cooperation” with Trump’s administration and a Department of Justice eager to launch fishing expeditions into our past and long-settled elections.

As voters, dependent on trust in our elections, we must ask a central moral question: Can we trust a man who views the private data of 2.6 million Arizonans, including home addresses and party affiliations, as a bargaining chip for partisan interests?

The answer should be a resounding no.

We are witnessing a classic “fox in the hen house” scenario. If Heap is allowed to seize the IT department now, we are not simply shifting personnel responsibilities. We are removing one of the last safeguards standing between the private information of millions of Arizonans and a federal government increasingly willing to weaponize election systems and public distrust for political gain.

We have already seen warning signs. Heap’s February announcement regarding a so-called “non-citizen” voter audit relied on sensitive voter data to fuel a divisive and misleading political narrative. This should alarm every voter, regardless of party affiliation.

The timing of this attempted power grab is itself reckless. Maricopa County is rapidly approaching the July 21 primary election. Attempting to migrate an entire election IT infrastructure, including dozens of critical servers and systems, in the middle of an active election cycle creates unnecessary instability and risk. To force this transition now is administrative malpractice and a dangerous gamble with the fundamental right to vote.

This threat to our representation is compounded by the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision weakening key protections under the Voting Rights Act and upholding maps that dilute the political power of diverse communities. When courts continue chipping away at voting rights protections, the administration of our elections becomes one of the last remaining lines of defense for democracy itself.

But after years of the Supreme Court weakening those protections, we are entering a dangerous new era where bad actors can more easily manipulate the rules, weaken oversight, and consolidate power over our elections. That is what makes Heap’s attempt to seize control over election infrastructure so alarming.

Arizona has a long and painful history of voter suppression and discriminatory election practices targeting Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed because Americans were beaten, jailed, terrorized and even murdered simply for demanding the right to vote. We cannot allow those hard-fought protections to be dismantled piece by piece while partisan actors quietly consolidate control over our democratic systems.

We need election systems that operate in good faith. Justin Heap has demonstrated that his allegiance lies with a partisan political agenda, not with protecting the integrity and stability of Maricopa County’s elections.

The Board of Supervisors was right to move toward a stay and an appeal of the court’s ruling. Right now, they are one of the last institutional barriers standing between democratic stability and partisan control over our election infrastructure.

Their appeal is not just a legal obligation. It is a test of whether Maricopa County will defend its democracy from partisan capture.

History will remember whether this Board protected the integrity of our elections when it mattered most.

The people of Maricopa County deserve elections that are transparent, stable, secure, and free from political manipulation. They deserve election systems built on public trust, not partisan loyalty.

Because once trust in democracy is broken, the damage is not easily undone.

The community must now stand with the Board and demand that our elections remain in the hands of the people — not political operatives seeking power behind closed doors.

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