With Justin Heap absent, Tim Stringham leans into theme of protecting democracy

Democrat Tim Stringham laid out a platform centered on protecting voting rights and building trust in election processes during a Thursday interview on his campaign to serve as recorder in the state's most populous county.

"I’ve been to war for you, to defend your rights, and I’m going to keep doing it as county recorder," he said.

The 30-minute event largely centered on election administration and the rise of voting conspiracies in recent years. It was initially planned as a debate, but Republican Justin Heap didn't appear. The discussion was organized by the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission and was broadcast live.

County recorders are statutorily tasked with managing public records, such as property documents. But the seat is best known for the tremendous power it holds over voter registration and early voting — and in politically purple Maricopa County, those areas of election administration have come under intense scrutiny amid a national wave of election denialism in recent years.

The two men vying for the position have night-and-day approaches to the job. Heap, an attorney and state lawmaker, has echoed the rhetoric of voting conspiracies. Stringham, a veteran and Naval Reserve attorney, is running as a defender of democracy.

He leaned into that theme on Thursday, promising to protect early voting and educate the public on election operations.

"Let's not throw out a great program," he said of mail-in voting.

But he made some appeals to election skeptics outside of his Democratic base, proposing a few changes that he said could improve trust. He said he would like to tighten ballot chain-of-custody measures and add security features to ballot drop boxes, such as fire suppression mechanisms.

In Maricopa County, outdoor drop boxes are already under constant security camera surveillance. The boxes also are equipped with tamper-proof tabs. Bipartisan teams transport deposited ballots to election officials.

"A lot of people have been concerned about ballot box security," Stringham said. "I still have questions about those. And I think it's important we have those conversations, we just need to have them in a thoughtful, considerate manner."

Stringham also suggested he'd use a lighter touch with social media than Republican Recorder Stephen Richer, who has heavily used his personal accounts on such platforms to educate the public about voting and combat misinformation.

At times, that has pitted Richer against high-profile figures. Stringham said such confrontations grab attention but can also "incentivize attacks on the office."

"Social media is great, social media is a fantastic tool, but it’s also scary," Stringham said. "It’s really easy to come off as smug, arrogant, aggressive."

One candidate shows, the other skips

Heap opted out of both the Clean Elections Commission event and one organized by Arizona PBS. The two debates were scheduled on back-to-back nights.

That drew criticism from Stringham, who sent out a fundraising email Thursday morning with the subject line: "Won't Show up for the Debate, Won't Show up for You."

Heap's absence was noted during Thursday's event. Stringham said he thought it was "unfortunate" that he didn't have the chance to debate Heap, calling it "a missed opportunity" for his opponent.

"I, even as his opponent, have not actually had much of a chance to hear Justin Heap speak or know what he intends for this office," Stringham said.

Heap didn't respond to a request for comment on Wednesday from The Arizona Republic on why he hadn't accepted the Clean Elections Commission's invite. But he addressed the issue in a social media post after the event ended, saying he spent the day talking to "voters from across the political spectrum."

"Today, like most days, I invested in getting to know the people I seek to represent because in our system of government it’s their voices that matter most," he said.

What has Heap said about his platform?

Heap told The Republic last month that his positions "are simple."

"I will work to make sure that every voter — independents, Republicans, Democrats, etc. — can have confidence in the process and outcome of our elections, that every voter is treated with respect, that our election laws are followed and that election results are delivered on election night," Heap said in a written statement.

He was widely expected to pursue an ambitious agenda if he won control of the Maricopa County Recorder's Office this fall. His allies have publicly said plans include tossing out existing Recorder's Office staffers, revamping procedures around early ballot processing, shifting away from a model that allows voters to cast ballots at any polling place in the county and advocating on the state level for conservative election legislation.

Sasha Hupka covers county government and election administration for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps. Sign up for her weekly election newsletter, Republic Recount.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Democrat Stringham faces questions on bid for Maricopa County recorder