February 03, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Recorder Heap Announces New Transparency Measure
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap today announced key improvements to the signature verification process for voters on the Active Early Voter List.
In past elections, official observers were not permitted into the room where signature verification was taking place due to older ballot envelope images containing voter’s personal information including the voter’s party identification. Accordingly, in deference to voter privacy laws, observers were required to view the process from a hallway outside the signature verification area. This arrangement made meaningful observation of the process impossible.
Beginning with elections in May of 2025, no party ID or personally identifying data of any kind will be displayed on the signature verification screen. This change will allow official elections observers back into the signature verification area to accurately monitor all stages of the signature verification process.
Previously, voters were assured by election officials that no party or personally identifying data was available to signature verifiers,” said Recorder Heap. “In my review of our election processes I have discovered this was not the case. Signature verification workers who scrolled down the page would still see this information on the scans of older ballots.”
“Removing that data will accomplish two important things: it brings bi-partisan observers back into the room to scrutinize the process and ensures that verifiers do not know the party affiliation of the voters whose signatures they are verifying. This will be the first of many commonsense improvements we will be making to ensure that future elections in Maricopa County are run in a trustworthy, transparent, and efficient manner,” concluded Heap.
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