PHOENIX — The candidate seeking to be in charge of how the county processes and stores millions of records, including property deeds, maps and voter registration files, has a history of failing to keep track of his own records.

Justin Heap is running in the Republican primary for Maricopa County Recorder against incumbent Steven Richer and challenger Don Hiatt.

RELATED: 'I don't trust the system': Maricopa County Recorder candidate debates election integrity

Heap has a history of mishaps involving documents and records.

• According to campaign finance documents, he filed four of his nine campaign finance reports late, including one that was 43 days late.
• In April, the Secretary of State's office filed a referral with the attorney general alleging there was “reasonable cause” to believe Heap violated campaign finance laws with respect to unstated 2023 contributions totaling $2,500.
• When Heap was pulled over for a traffic violation in April, he was cited for “not having a current vehicle registration,” according to public records.
• Another traffic violation in 2017 found Heap did not have a valid driver's license.

Last year, 12 News reported recordings of Heaps, a state representative, telling lobbyists he would prioritize visits based on who had donated to his campaigns.

Heap later told 12News he had a meeting scheduled with the lobbyist anyway, suggesting it wasn't about the donations, but emails from the lobbyist and Heap himself contradicted his statement.

“He has ethical issues, not just organizational issues,” said Tyler Montague, a longtime East Valley Republican activist who supports the incumbent Richer. Montague believes a candidate's ability to keep track of their personal records reflects a larger issue. “If you're running saying you're going to be a better recorder than the sitting recorder, and you can't file your own papers, that's a problem.”

Heap did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Richer took to social media to attack Heap's record.

The stakes are high in this race. The recorder also oversees voter registration, mail-in voting and other aspects of the election.

During the past two elections, protests, false conspiracies and even death threats against election workers were common locally and nationally.

Richer, who took office after the 2020 election, has staunchly defended his office's handling of the 2022 election.

“We've never lost a case in court. If you have a problem with the way we administer our elections, you can sue us,” Richter said at a debate last week. “But we've won every case in court because we follow the law.”

His challenger, IT expert Don Hiatt, is running on false claims that the last two elections were stolen.

“I'm a data guy. I'm the guy who knows what's going on behind the scenes,” Hyatt said.

Heap didn't use the word “stolen,” but he doesn't accept the results.

“As a civil rights attorney, I don't make statements that I can't prove,” he said. “We need honest, forthright people to solve this problem.”

The Center for American Unity Democracy, a national democracy watchdog group, is also closely monitoring the race.

Researcher Kelly Leder says when candidates refuse to acknowledge the results of past elections, it poses a threat to future free and fair elections.

“Justin Heap is a great example of why it's important to understand how the election denial movement has evolved. It started at the top and now it's reaching the tiniest levels of government,” Rader said.

Check out the latest Arizona political news in the 12News YouTube playlist.