Trust me on this, readers. The legacy media will not be rushing to tell you about the process of the 2026 primary election that was held in my home state of Arizona Tuesday.
In recent years, as many are likely aware, Maricopa County, the state's most populous county, has become something of a national running joke when it comes to how slow the election results are to be announced, with early ballots sometimes taking weeks after Election Day to be counted.
And when current Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, who promised voters in 2024 that he would restore integrity to the state's elections, tried to do just that, he didn't just get pushback. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors took him to court, in a case that has dragged on for a year-and-a-half.
Read More: Lefty Arizona AG Kris Mayes Dismisses 2020 Fake Elector Criminal Case Against Trump Allies - for Now
But two weeks ago, the Arizona Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, sided with Heap:
In her order, Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer instituted a 12-point interim plan proposed by Heap’s attorney. Under the framework, voting locations and drop boxes will remain the same unless both Heap and the board decide on changes. Heap will gain access to the databases used to administer elections, and the existing vote tabulating equipment and procedures will be used.
Justin Heap recently sat down with KSAZ-TV's Newsmaker program to break down the chain of events leading to the suit:
After I won the primary, the outgoing Board and Recorder signed an agreement that transferred a third of my staff, my IT systems, and many of the duties assigned to the Recorder over to the control of the Board.
You may not be shocked to learn that one of those duties was mail-in and early voting.
When host John Hook cut in, asking Heap why the Board would do that, then saying "they were afraid of you," Heap agreed, calling out the move as "a little bit of an irony":
Our prior Recorder and Board had spent four years essentially accusing the voters of being unable to accept the results of the election. But then at the end the candidate that they didn't like - me - had prevailed in the election. they quickly decided that the voters were wrong, and took these actions to make sure that I would not be able to deliver the things that I had promised. Ultimately, they were the ones unwilling to accept the results of the election.
Just to hammer home to everyone how many ballots this normally affects, as KSAZ-TV noted, early ballots "historically represents about 83% of the county's total vote."
Fast-forward to Tuesday. As Arizonans took to the polls on Election day, County Recorder Heap was asked by KSAZ-TV reporter Steve Nielsen if his expectations of streamlining the usually drawn out signature verification process were being met. Heap said that his team was "fully caught up on all of the signatures that are out there [from early voting]," and they were just waiting to count the ballots that were being dropped off up to 7 PM Tuesday (AKA "late-early ballots"). He figured the Recorder's Office would have those around 9 PM.
Then Heap made a promise to voters - that they would have the ballot signatures verified by mid-day on Wednesday.
And just minutes before 9 AM on Wednesday, he shared the astounding "election update" on his X account. Heap's team finished its work with hours to spare:
🚨ELECTION UPDATE:
— Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) July 22, 2026
Despite receiving the final batch of late-early ballots at 2:40 a.m., my Office completed signature verification on all Election Day early ballots by 8:00 a.m.
A huge thank you to the dedicated staff who came in at 2:00 a.m. to ensure we delivered the fast,… https://t.co/IAEWigKheM
ELECTION UPDATE: Despite receiving the final batch of late-early ballots at 2:40 a.m., my Office completed signature verification on all Election Day early ballots by 8:00 a.m. A huge thank you to the dedicated staff who came in at 2:00 a.m. to ensure we delivered the fast, accurate, and transparent results we promised Maricopa County voters. The verified ballots have now been transferred to the Board's Election Department for tabulation.
Here's the full announcement posted by the Recorder's Office: (emphasis added)
The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office has completed signature verification, successfully processing and transmitting all signature-verified ballot affidavits dropped off on Election Day to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors’ Elections Department for tabulation.
A tremendous thank you to our dedicated elections team, who began work at 2:00 a.m., this morning, and completed the signature verification process in less than 6 hours while upholding the highest standards of accuracy, security, and election integrity.
This achievement represents an unprecedented milestone for the Recorder’s Office and sets a new benchmark for the speed and efficiency of signature verification during a Primary Election. Through enhanced processes, technology improvements, and the dedication of our trained staff, ballot affidavits were verified in a matter of hours rather than days, without compromising the rigorous safeguards that protect every vote.
We are proud of the extraordinary work of our team and remain committed to delivering elections that are secure, transparent, accurate, and efficient for the voters of Maricopa County.
Our focus now shifts to curing ballot affidavits.
If you receive a call or notification about a signature issue, contact us at 602-506-1511 or visit http://BeBallotReady.Vote to confirm your identity and signature so your ballot can be counted.
Deadline: Sunday, July 26, at 5:00 p.m.
Only voters who were contacted need to take action.
How awesome is that!
Readers, this is what I voted for. And if things are starting to heal in a place like Arizona, where we are still working to replace radical leftist Dems like AG Kris Mayes and veto queen Gov. Katie Hobbs (whose tally for 2026 stands at 151) in November, it shows there's hope across the country.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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