Learn more about the candidates for the Maricopa County sheriff race: Republican Justin Heap and Democrat Tim Stringham. Heap beat current Recorder Stephen Richer in the Republican primary.
The Maricopa County recorder is in charge of early voting, voter registration and handful of non-election duties. The office has become a political hot potato in recent years following the proliferation of unproven claims of widespread voter fraud spread by politicians like former President Donald Trump, leading to the ouster of incumbent Republican Recorder Stephen Richer, who lost favor with many GOP voters over his defense of the county's elections.
Justin Heap
Party: Republican
Website: justinheap.com
Heap is a first-term state lawmaker who was recruited to run for recorder by fellow lawmaker Sen. Jake Hoffman, who leads the Legislature’s far-right Freedom Caucus. Heap has refused to say whether he thinks widespread fraud affected the results of the 2020 or 2022 elections but did call the results of those elections into question and is endorsed by prominent promoters of those disproven theories, including Kari Lake and former President Donald Trump.
He said he wants to restore voters’ trust in the county’s elections, criticizing early ballot signature verification processes under current Republican Recorder Stephen Richer. He also cited widely publicized Election Day ballot printer failures that plagued some polling places in 2022. Election Day administration is controlled by the Board of Supervisors; the recorder administers early voting and voter registration services.
Tim Stringham
Party: Democrat
Website: timstringham.com
Stringham is a veteran who served four years active duty in the Army, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan working with local civilian populations. He then served in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps, working in human rights law and providing training in countries around the globe.
Stringham said he chose to run for office to defend the right to vote for all eligible voters and to stand up to conspiracy theories about the county’s election systems.
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Get information on Arizona races to watch, vote centers, ballots and the latest 2024 election news. -
Every two years, Arizonans cast their votes in primary and general elections. And every two years, critics complain it takes too many days for all the votes to be counted. Through KJZZ’s Q&AZ project, a listener asked: Why does the vote counting process take so long?
