Twenty-five Americans in Maricopa County can vote again. They just got their ballots. Days before the November 3 midterms, these citizens regained access to the ballot box after a bitter legal standoff between County Recorder Justin Heap and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes ended in a court-ordered settlement on Friday.
The dispute hinged on bureaucratic friction, not malice. Heap’s office used the federal SAVE database to flag 207 potential noncitizens. Of those, 60 had voted previously. Investigators confirmed 52 were US citizens. Yet, Heap’s office held onto the registrations, demanding specific documentary proof—like driver’s license data—before reinstating them. Mayes argued this violated state law, which requires positive confirmation of non-citizenship before cancelling a vote. The 25 stuck in this limbo were the ones who couldn’t get their status flipped back to "active" fast enough.
Judge Christopher Whitten broke the deadlock. Mediation forced Mayes’ office to hand over the citizenship documentation Heap claimed he was missing. Once the files landed, Heap’s team restored the 24 remaining active registrations (the 25th had already fixed theirs independently). Early ballots went out to 18 of them immediately, as the October 23 deadline for requesting them had just passed. It’s a narrow victory, but it keeps 25 people from being silenced for one election cycle.
Reactions are sharp. Heap said, "We needed legally sufficient documentation of citizenship, we received it, and we immediately restored the voters." Mayes wasn’t impressed. "It should not have taken litigation to make Justin Heap follow the law," she stated. Maricopa County Supervisor Tom Galvin also joined the criticism. The lawsuit is now dismissed. The next step is simple: these 25 people will cast their votes on November 3, or earlier if they already grabbed those early ballots.