Glendale: Arizona Attorney General Accuses Maricopa Recorder of 'Playing Politics' Over Noncitizen Voter Referrals

Mayes says Heap delayed sending 207 suspected noncitizen voters for investigation

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes accused Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap of withholding voter data for political gain after his office finally referred 207 suspected noncitizen voters to the state for investigation.

The referral came nearly two months after Mayes' top prosecutor formally requested the records, according to a report from Votebeat.

"So, you know, the county recorder was playing politics, obviously," Mayes said. "That's really not appropriate. He needed to be following the law, and it's not a great sign that he was not willing to follow the law for as long as he did."

The dispute centers on Arizona election law that requires county recorders to cancel registrations and notify both the county attorney and state attorney general when they identify noncitizens on voter rolls.

The SAVE database and 207 flagged voters

In February, Heap announced his office used the federal SAVE database to identify 137 suspected noncitizens registered to vote in Maricopa County. Of those, 60 had voted in past elections.

The office later expanded the list to 207 suspected noncitizens total.

But Heap did not immediately refer the cases to Mayes' office. Instead, he placed the flagged voters into a "Not Eligible" status, giving them time to provide proof of citizenship.

Heap cited a well-documented Motor Vehicle Division error from 2024 that called into question the voter registration of hundreds of thousands of Arizonans. He said premature cancellations could harm innocent voters.

"The Recorder's Office has acted deliberately and in good faith to follow the process established by the Legislature and reflected in the (Election Procedures Manual)," Heap wrote in an April 10 letter. "That process is designed to protect both election integrity and the due process rights of affected voters. Premature referrals outside of that framework would undermine both."

The legal back-and-forth

The timeline of the dispute unfolded over several months:

• March 2 — Nick Klingerman, chief of the Criminal Division at the Attorney General's office, emailed Heap requesting the referrals "as soon as possible."
• April 2 — Klingerman sent a follow-up letter citing state law requiring the recorder to notify prosecutors when noncitizen voters are discovered. He wrote the requirement is "not discretionary."
• April 10 — Heap responded that no cancellations had occurred, so the statutory trigger for referral had not been met.
• Friday — Heap referred the 207 cases to Mayes' office.

Klingerman argued that Heap had announced his intent to investigate in February and had already referred the matter to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in March. He said the deadline for voters to provide proof of citizenship had already passed.

"Your announcements on February 13, 2026, clearly explained that you sent the statutorily-required notice months ago, thus triggering the referral requirements of the law," Klingerman wrote.

What happens next

Mayes said her office and Mitchell's office are coordinating on the investigations.

"We're in good communication with each other about it, and I think we'll probably be in communication hopefully before we both release results," Mayes said.

The SAVE database controversy is playing out nationally. Republicans support using the tool to purge noncitizen voters from rolls. Democrats point to reporting from ProPublica and NPR showing the database has a history of incorrectly flagging U.S. citizens as noncitizens.

Noncitizen voting remains exceedingly rare in the United States, according to multiple studies.

The referral affects all Maricopa County voters, including those in Glendale, as the Attorney General's investigation could lead to prosecution and changes to how voter eligibility is verified statewide.