The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution outlining the locations of drop boxes for the upcoming early-voting period without consulting Recorder Justin Heap.

The board approved the resolution while it continues to deal with an ongoing lawsuit with Heap about who runs specific election functions.

In April, a judge ruled in favor of Heap, saying the board members need to hand over control of specific election functions to his office.

The board sought a stay of the motion, but the Arizona Superior Court denied it. The board then announced it was appealing the lower court’s decision.

“Our job is to deliver secure, accurate and stable elections for Maricopa County voters. That takes careful planning and steady leadership, not rushed decisions driven by uncertain court rulings,” said Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kate Brophy McGee. “We look forward to presenting our argument to the Arizona Court of Appeals."

Heap said he was not consulted before the board approved the resolution Wednesday on drop-box locations.

“The law is not optional," he said. "The court has already ruled that the Board does not possess unlimited authority over election administration, yet the Board continues attempting to exercise powers Arizona law assigns to the recorder."

He also said: "Voters deserve lawful, professional election administration, not political gamesmanship and last-minute public ambushes."

However, Supervisor Mark Stewart said the county's elections department and the recorder's team worked together to compile a list of drop-box ballot locations and that such negotiations had been going on for a few months.

The problem arose when the board put forth a resolution about  locations without collaborating with Heap, he said.

Stewart says he had a discussion with Heap about the locations and said he was fine with them but just wanted to be able to sign off on them.

If the board had gone to Heap and discussed the proposed drop-box ballot locations and procedures, none of this would have happened, and the item would have gone to the consent agenda, he said.

According to Stewart, the board discussed the resolution in executive session on Monday, then added it to the agenda for the upcoming meeting on Tuesday morning.

On Wednesday, Heap’s attorney, James Rogers, of the America First Legal Foundation, sent the board a letter before its meeting.

In the letter, Rogers said the board’s effort to control the locations could expose board members and staff to criminal liability.

“Only the Recorder has the power to designate these locations, and only drop boxes established under the Recorder’s authority can satisfy the statutory and regulatory requirements for lawful operation,” the letter states.

Stewart called the letter a “little over the top.”

He also said his only goal is to try to "create some bridge of solutions for the public. It’s not what the voters expect; they expect us to just get things done.”

“Now it’s a drama fest, and it’s unfortunate because a phone call or a meeting would’ve solved this,” he also said.

Despite the ongoing division between the board and recorder, Stewart said the staff members in the recorder’s office and county election department “are working well together.”

Stewart said the drop boxes will be located at “city halls and monitored locations throughout the valley.”

Earlier in May, Stewart sought to have a judge appoint a professional mediator to broker negotiations between the board and the recorder.

However, a judge rejected his request because the judge “didn’t feel like the two parties could work in good faith with one another," he said. 

“Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to make any headway, and people are just butting heads,” Stewart said.

Heap’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.