Arizona Supreme Court Ends Appeals Stay, Orders Return of Recorder’s IT Staff Under New Protocol

The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday dissolved a stay issued by the Arizona Court of Appeals on an April ruling by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney. The order restores Heap's authority over IT staff and resources that the board had taken under a prior agreement.

Blaney had ruled that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors acted unlawfully by seizing Heap’s personnel, systems and equipment and refusing to return them.

He ordered the board to return all IT staff and resources under the recorder’s control prior to the October 2024 Shared Services Agreement or immediately fund their replacement. The dispute began when then-outgoing Recorder Stephen Richer struck the Shared Services Agreement with the board roughly one month before the 2024 elections.

The agreement transferred control of Heap’s IT staff and finances and expanded the board’s role in early voting.

Heap took office in January 2025 and filed suit in June 2025 after months of resistance to a new agreement. The Arizona Court of Appeals had paused Blaney’s order last month at the board’s request, citing the Purcell principle. Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer ruled that the appellate court abused its discretion.

She rejected the board’s argument that the legal text authorizes the board to assign the task to the board-appointed Maricopa County Elections Director. The Arizona Supreme Court accepted a 12-point interim operational protocol proposed by Heap to modify the terms of the stay and injunction orders for the state’s upcoming primary elections.