meredith anne

[Patriotnheels 🇺🇸👠 @patriotnheels]

So who had Heap’s office illegally tampering with ballots on their bingo card?

[M & M Enterprises @sfoguj]

Another L for Patrick Byrne as his motion to extend the discovery deadline in a 4-yr-old defamation case against him is DENIED.
https://t.co/9CnF5gveX1

[Steven Slugocki @Slugocki]

Elect a clown, expect a circus.

[Brahm Resnik @brahmresnik]

LEGAL BEAT Maricopa County Board attorney: Stephen Miller's law firm America First Legal has effectively taken over Maricopa County Recorder's Office in "unprecedented power grab" - and that's illegal. https://t.co/2i11W51kHv

[Wayne Schutsky @WayneSchutsky]

Justin Heap is sparring again with the Board of Supervisors. This time over election equipment Heap claims as his own that his staff is accused of swiping from a county elex center. The supes say the it belongs to the then, which is backed by budget docs.

https://t.co/kJlDgyAPlJ

[Patriotnheels 🇺🇸👠 @patriotnheels]

Our recorder had lost all credibility.

[meredith anne @MeredithCramer]

At approximately 1:36 p.m. on March 12, 2026 - as results were being tabulated for the Tempe Jurisdictional Election - two Maricopa County Recorder’s Office (MCRO) employees were seen via closed-circuit security cameras removing a piece of equipment from the Maricopa County Election & Tabulation Center (MCTEC).  The Recorder’s Office CIO and another employee wheeled the pre-tabulation scanner controlled by the Board of Supervisors out of the building, loaded it into the back of a pickup truck, and drove off.  This was believed to be a personal vehicle, as it bore no Maricopa County insignia.  The individuals returned to MCTEC with the scanner approximately 50 minutes later, after the county Elections Director had alerted MCRO leadership to the incident. It is unknown what transpired with the scanner during this period, other than that it was taken to MCRO executive offices.

[Maricopa County Attorney's Office @marcoattorney]

An allegation was made to Maricopa County Attorney @Rachel1Mitchell, who had a conflict of interest, and she appointed a Special Counsel. MCAO is not involved in the investigation and has no further comment.

[Patriotnheels 🇺🇸👠 @patriotnheels]

@maricopacounty @KateMcGeeAZ @DebbieLesko The recorder’s office has over stepped their bounds again.

[Arizona's Law @arizonaslaw]

BREAKING: Recorder-Supes feud takes turn toward the criminal. Special Prosecutor investigating whether to pursue crim charges vs 2 MCRO employees for removing/compromising a ballot scanner, loading on a personal pickup, bringing it back 50 minutes later. ($70k scanner replaced)

[Debbie Lesko @DebbieLesko]

If Adrian Fontes' staff took any election equipment & LIVE BALLOTS out of secured area during an election, many voters would be livid & question integrity of our elections. This is what Recorder Heap's staff has done & he's trying to justify it. Closed-circuit video doesn't lie.

[meredith anne @MeredithCramer]

@Tia_Arizona @Garrett_Archer @KateMcGeeAZ @DebbieLesko @azjustinheap So we finally have broken chain of custody during an election on tape?

[CNN @CNN]

Nithya Raman will advance to the November election in the Los Angeles mayoral race, CNN's Decision Desk projects, after overtaking Spencer Pratt for second place as more votes were counted in the days after the June 2 primary. https://t.co/8PhtEWKFtz

[The AZ - abc15 - Data Guru @Garrett_Archer]

STATEMENT FROM @KateMcGeeAZ and @DebbieLesko over @azjustinheap accusation that one of his staffers was targeted by the board in a potential criminal investigation.

"While the Board typically wouldn’t comment on an ongoing investigation, especially one involving Maricopa County employees, Recorder Heap’s legal motion and public statement today require that we respond with a factual accounting.

At approximately 1:36 p.m. on March 12, 2026 - as results were being tabulated for the Tempe Jurisdictional Election - two Maricopa County Recorder’s Office (MCRO) employees were seen via closed-circuit security cameras removing a piece of equipment from the Maricopa County Election & Tabulation Center (MCTEC).  The Recorder’s Office CIO and another employee wheeled the pre-tabulation scanner controlled by the Board of Supervisors out of the building, loaded it into the back of a pickup truck, and drove off.  This was believed to be a personal vehicle, as it bore no Maricopa County insignia.  The individuals returned to MCTEC with the scanner approximately 50 minutes later, after the county Elections Director had alerted MCRO leadership to the incident. It is unknown what transpired with the scanner during this period, other than that it was taken to MCRO executive offices.

As part of normal protocol, Maricopa County Human Resources (HR) opened an internal inquiry to determine what, if any, county policies had been violated. MCRO refused to participate.  However, the HR report independently substantiated the incident and confirmed the CIO had been notified on at least one occasion, in an inter-office message on March 5, that the scanner was controlled by the Board’s Elections Department.

The HR investigation also determined that, on the same day the CIO removed the Board-controlled scanner, he also removed what appeared to be a handful of provisional ballot affidavit envelopes from a secure area of MCTEC.  These envelopes potentially contained live ballots, creating grave chain-of-custody concerns.  The investigation could not determine what, if anything, the CIO did with these materials, but a count the following day determined all ballots and envelopes had been accounted for.

Following completion of the HR inquiry, county leadership shared the findings with the Recorder’s Office and engaged the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) to receive legal advice.  MCAO reviewed the report and appointed a special prosecutor to determine whether criminal activity occurred.  That investigation is ongoing.

The Board replaced the compromised scanner at a cost of approximately $70,000."

[Wayne Schutsky @WayneSchutsky]

Update: Pinal County Sheriff’s Office now tells me an off duty deputy was hired by the special counsel appointed by Maricopa County Atty Rachel Mitchell to look into the allegations.

[Lyn Alden @LynAldenContact]

It's not always a competition. You can actually just win and hope others win, too.

I was a nerd in high school, but it was a big enough place that there wasn't a core popular group. Or if there was, I couldn't tell you their names. Don't even know how they're doing now.

[meredith anne @MeredithCramer]

@WayneSchutsky Press release mentions multiple employees. Surprised the Pinal Sheriff isn’t aware. Interesting . 🧐

[Wayne Schutsky @WayneSchutsky]

So this emergency court filing says Pinal County Sheriff's deputies showed up at a Recorder staffers house to tell him he is under investigation. But the Pinal County Sheriff's Office tells me nobody there, including Sheriff Teeple, is familiar with this case.

[Kris Mayes @krismayes]

Arizona is better because of heroes like @GabbyGiffords. Happy Birthday, Gabby. Always proud to stand next to you in the fight 💪

[meredith anne @MeredithCramer]

@Garrett_Archer @marcoattorney The recorder’s post stated employees but only mentioned one. 🤔