When Maricopa County voters cast their ballots this year, they will choose a new recorder. A once-uncontroversial position is now at the center of a tug-of-war over election administration in the nation's fourth-largest county.

The race is between first-time Democratic politician Tim Stringham and early Republican state Rep. Justin Heap, who defeated incumbent Republican Record Rep. Stephen Richer in July's Republican primary.

The Recorder's Office is responsible for voter registration and early voting in Maricopa County, which became a hotbed of election-related conspiracy theories after Donald Trump lost to President Joe Biden in 2020.

Heap stopped short of claiming past elections were stolen, but he was recruited by one of Arizona's so-called fake electors to undermine Biden's 2020 victory. State Sen. Jake Hoffman, who is being indicted on suspicion of attempting to confuse the United States. Election deniers include Trump and U.S. Sen. Kari Lake.

Heap has based his recorder campaign on the claim that many voters lack confidence in the county's elections, a message echoed throughout former President Trump's rally in Glendale in August. was shown.

“Whether we wanted it to or not, election integrity has become a modern-day civil rights issue,” Heap said. “And despite the clickbait smears of left-wing media, I am proud to stand before you as a fearless defender of your God-given right to free, fair and honest elections. I’m ready.”

Stringham, a Democrat, has made it clear that past elections were not stolen, and Richer's loss (which came four years after Richer defeated Democratic Rep. Adrian Fontes) means the county's elections will not be stolen. He said he hopes to convince others it's safe.

“The pinnacle of accomplishment for election officials should be that they conducted a fair election,” Stringham said. “And if you have two consecutive election officials who oversaw elections that you yourself lost, to me, that's pretty strong evidence that our elections are fair.”

Heap did not respond to multiple requests for comment and was absent from two debates against Stringham.

But Mr. Heap, in a debate with Mr. Richer earlier this year, made clear his vision for the administration and tiptoed around questions about whether he believed past elections were stolen.

“I don't think the election rules were followed, and I would say it's natural for people to be skeptical and suspicious of the system,” Heap said. “I agree with them too.”

He blasted Richer for not doing enough to remove ineligible voters from the rolls, saying Richer and Stringham are not doing enough to remove ineligible voters from the rolls. He argued that he is contesting the issue by citing the fact that the number of registered voters is decreasing.

Heap also regularly criticized the current recording equipment for issues that are the responsibility of the county Board of Supervisors, not Richer, such as issues with ballot printers on Election Day 2022.

Stringham said he decided to run as a firewall to prevent election deniers from taking over, and while he didn't intend to run against Richer, he said he didn't think he could win the Republican primary.

“I would like to ask Justin Heap, if you have a complaint about the office, speak up. Are you talking about these lies told by Donald Trump and Kali Lake, or are you talking about us? Is there anything else you would like addressed?'' Stringham told PBS Arizona.

After serving six years as a counterinsurgency specialist in the Army, Stringham earned a law degree and practiced human rights law around the world in the Navy. He says leading a large team on a complex assignment prepared him to oversee hundreds of employees at the records clerk's office.

He says events like January 6 make him think about going back home and fighting a different kind of fight in his own backyard.

“An important part of my stump speech is to tell people how I felt that day when I thought, 'Oh, I'm an American and I'm going to save the world and make it safe for democracy.' ” he said.

And unlike Heap, Stringham isn't looking to make major changes to the way Richer runs his office. He said he wants to keep an open mind to find ways to improve the office's processes and ensure the security of future elections.

“If someone is complaining, is it just the fact that there are 2.4 million people and something is wrong? Or is this really something that can be fixed going forward?” he said. I did. “I always tell people to calm down a little before solving a problem.”

Pool photo via Cheryl Evans/Arizona Republic

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But Mr Heap said a more aggressive approach was needed and criticized Mr Richer for taking criticism of his office too lightly.

“The way elected officials manage elections poorly, disrespecting and belittling voters, is the cause of voter distrust, not the results,” June debate. I said this at the meeting.

Stringham said he doesn't want to ignore voters' concerns, but he also doesn't want to amplify baseless conspiracy theories.

“We don’t want to offend people by being challenging,” he said. “I just want them to be thoughtful and honest about it.”

Heap has an advantage in Maricopa County, where Republican voters outnumber Democrats by about 160,000.

But a recent poll by Noble Predictive Insights shows Stringham with a 4 percentage point lead in the race, but pollster Mike Noble said the county's more than 860,000 independents have a 4% lead in the race. 22% of respondents, including the majority, warned that they had not yet made a decision as of early September.

“35% of independents were undecided about the race, and 32% of moderates were undecided about who to vote for,” Noble said. “So, it’s the kind of group you would expect…that ultimately ends up deciding who wins or loses that race.”

That might give Stringham an advantage.

Noble said 76% of independents do not believe the 2020 election was stolen.