Statement on Recorder Heap's Latest Legal Filing
"The Board of Supervisors has a responsibility to voters to ensure we have the best elections system, including IT infrastructure. If we make any changes in our IT infrastructure related to elections, we need a thoughtful plan for how those changes will be made. Planning must be done well, without delays, security risks, or disruptions in elections services. It is important for the Board to carefully review IT systems, just like any public entity or private company should.
The filing was not a surprise. Justin Heap has consistently played games with the court system, with disregard to voters and taxpayers’ money. Today is just another unfortunate publicity stunt because Heap previously supported and requested a review of the election IT systems.
There are blatant misrepresentations in Justin Heap’s press release, which include the following:
- Heap claims his office “was not consulted or notified prior to this engagement.” Yet, the Recorder himself asked for an IT assessment during a January budget hearing (watch video);
- Heap was briefed and verbally agreed to the scope of such a review during an in-person, April 11 meeting with Vice Chair Brophy McGee and myself (see pg. 10-11);
- Heap attended the April 24 public hearing in which this plan was publicly shared (watch video).
The Board has always intended to hire an independent, third-party vendor to perform a systemwide assessment to honor the best interest of Maricopa County’s voters. The Board’s plan calls for a reputable, experienced, professional vendor to access and analyze the County’s data, systems, software, security and credentials and additionally adheres strictly to confidentiality.
We will respond to the new legal filing in due course. In the meantime, Justin Heap should be mindful of his previous statements which conflict with this farcical court filing."
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