Arizona county recorders have received years of federal felony-conviction records from the Secretary of State’s Office following a dispute over whether the records had previously been provided by the U.S. Department of Justice.
County recorders received federal felony files covering portions of 2023 through the second quarter of 2026 on Monday night, according to Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap. The release came days after Heap publicly challenged Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ account of why the reports had not been distributed to county election officials.
Reports for the third and fourth quarters of 2025 remain outstanding. Fontes’ office has said those records will be uploaded by the end of the week.
Arizona Republican Party Chairman Sergio Arellano blasted Fontes on X.com, “Fontes yet again caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A pattern of lies and deceit from the Secretary of State Fontes is not what AZ needs. Submit your ballot immediately, Vote for @realAlexKolodin !! Big thank you to @azjustinheap for sticking through with this, election integrity matters.”
Fontes yet again caught with his hand in the cookie jar 🍪. A pattern of lies and deceit from the Secretary of State Fontes is not what AZ needs . Submit your ballot immediately, Vote for @realAlexKolodin !! Big thank you to @azjustinheap for sticking through with this, election… https://t.co/HJ4hgABbsT
— Sergio Arellano (@SurgeShow) September 30, 2026
Heap’s office had raised concerns about the missing reports on behalf of county recorders, who rely on felony-conviction information when reviewing voter registrations for potential cancellation under Arizona law.
Heap said he contacted Justice Department officials directly and was told the federal government had continued providing felony reports to the Secretary of State’s Office.
“Last week, Adrian Fontes was still telling the public that the DOJ was to blame. I spoke directly with DOJ officials, who confirmed they had consistently provided these felony reports to the Secretary of State’s Office over the past four years. The moment our office exposed his failure, years of records suddenly appeared,” Heap said.
“Fontes lied to Arizonans, neglected his duty, and moved only when public pressure left him no choice,” Heap added. “This is a win for every county Recorder who has been denied the information needed to maintain accurate voter rolls.”
Heap said the delayed release now leaves county recorders with a significant amount of work shortly before early ballots are scheduled to be mailed.
According to Heap, work that could have been conducted over time must now be completed under a compressed timetable as recorders examine the newly released records and determine whether any voter registrations require action.
Heap is calling on Fontes to immediately provide the two remaining quarterly reports.
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