The Maricopa County recorder may not have his election authority restored this election season based on a new court ruling.
On Thursday, the Arizona Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling granted the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors a temporary stay on a lower court ruling that would have required the board to restore certain election authority and resources to the recorder’s office.
The six-page order determined that restoring election authority to the recorder’s office at this point in the election season would burden election administration and management, likely to the point of “irreparable harm” for voters.
“The practical impacts of these changes, and even the injunction’s claim to mitigate practical harms for the voter, all demonstrate that this is no mere backroom dispute over accounting principles or organizational charts. It is, by everyone’s assessment, a live conflict hurtling toward real-world consequences in elections about to begin,” said the court. “[T]he importance of avoiding serious administrative confusion in the 2026 election demonstrates to us that the balance of hardships tips in favor of the board.”
The appeals court cited the argument made in an amicus brief filed by a former Maricopa County recorder, Helen Purcell, and the eponymous Supreme Court precedent set decades ago, the Purcell principle, as the basis for their decision.
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap said in a statement to social media that he disagreed with the majority ruling, and that it didn’t mark an end to the case. Heap expressed confidence that his office would ultimately win this case which decides the board of supervisors’ supremacy over elections.
🚨UPDATE:
Today's 2-1 decision granting a temporary stay is not the end of this case. The Court of Appeals did not decide the ultimate question of who Arizona law assigns these responsibilities to – it simply paused the Superior Court's injunction while the appeal moves forward.… https://t.co/9gYeZZuB6K— Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) June 18, 2026
Board Chair Kate Brophy McGee thanked Purcell on social media for her amicus brief and for setting the years-old Supreme Court precedent which served to inspire Thursday’s appeals court ruling.
In a press release, McGee said the ruling would ensure voters could have confidence that they would not experience disruptions to the upcoming primary and general elections.
“[V]oters can expect a consistent, high-quality voting experience, and election workers will have confidence they can follow established, lawful and proven procedures,” said McGee. “Simply put, this court order averts potential chaos at the polls that may have resulted from the lower court decision, which sought to force the county to enact broad changes in election administration in the middle of one election and on the eve of another.”
Recorder Helen Purcell is a champion for voters, and I am very appreciative of her insight and expertise on election matters in Maricopa County. The Court’s decision today relied appropriately on precedent set under her leadership. I thank her for her continued service. https://t.co/cmIurSL3wm
— Chair Kate Brophy McGee (@KateMcGeeAZ) June 18, 2026
For months the board has refused to comply with the Maricopa County Superior Court order to restore election powers, personnel, and resources to Heap, arguing against the validity of the argument and citing concerns with the alleged timeline crunch posed by the 2026 primary and general elections.
This appeals court ruling emerged as the Maricopa County Superior Court was in the process of granting Heap’s request for a contempt order over the board’s noncompliance.
The lower court had ordered the board to appear at a contempt hearing later this month (June 30) for “willful, continuing, and escalating noncompliance” with its April ruling to restore election authority to the recorder.
Ahead of that contempt hearing, the superior court had scheduled a settlement conference between the board and recorder to occur this upcoming Monday.
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