Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap discussed election records, litigation with feds
New records show a top Maricopa County official directly corresponded with the U.S. Department of Justice last year about election records and litigation as the department sought to obtain Arizona’s voter roll and probe the county’s past elections.
The emails, obtained by watchdog group American Oversight and shared exclusively with Votebeat, show Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap signaling support for the Trump administration’s investigation into his own county’s elections. The county, home to Phoenix, is a key election battleground.
The records also suggest that Heap, a Republican, met with Arizona’s top federal prosecutor just before the DOJ informed the county it was looking into its past elections, raising questions about his level of coordination with federal law enforcement officials.
In addition, the documents suggest that the recorder’s office withheld records from Votebeat. In March, Votebeat filed a public records request for copies of emails between Heap and the DOJ during the time period in question, but his office did not provide them. Under state law, public officials cannot withhold requested records without any basis, and doing so could lead to civil penalties.
https://www.votebeat.org/arizona/2026/04/14/maricopa-county-justin-heap-department-justice-investigation-election-records-litigation-emails/