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Big Win! Maricopa Superior Court Judge Orders Board of Supervisors to Restore Key Election Functions to Recorder’s Office

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Voting machine with a checkmark on the screen, set against the Arizona state flag background, symbolizing democratic participation in elections.Professional portrait of a man in a blue suit with a red tie, smiling confidently against a blurred outdoor background.Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap defeated Stephen Richer in the Republican Primary in July 2024

In October of 2024, former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer entered into an agreement with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (Board) to shift certain election duties away from the Recorder’s office and to the Board.  This was done months after Justin Heap defeated Richer in the July 30th, 2024, Republican Primary for Maricopa County Recorder, and one month before Heap won the November 5th election to succeed Richer.

The agreement was unanimous and gave the Board control over early ballot processing, including the appointment of a bipartisan board responsible for overseeing the early voting process.  The agreement also centralized election-related information technology (IT) functions, as well as the $5 million budget associated with the IT service.

Following the agreement’s approval on October 10th, KJZZ Phoenix reported:

The agreement, unanimously approved by the board on Oct. 10, gives the Board of Supervisors the authority to appoint the board that processes early ballots, which includes an inspector and two judges from different political parties. According to the Election Procedures Manual, those boards examine, count and verify early ballots before they are tabulated. That includes opening envelopes, ensuring the ballot envelopes show the correct election code and identifying damaged ballots.

…

Under the previous shared services agreement adopted in 2023, the recorder managed early ballot processing.

Under the new agreement, the Recorder’s Office will retain other election-related responsibilities, including voter registration, planning and administering early voting and signature verification of early ballots.

However, the Board of Supervisors also voted to move the recorder’s information technology staff and its associated $5 million budget under its supervision, including “any IT-related service necessary for the Recorder to effectively perform its elections or business-related responsibilities as designated.

Upon assuming office, Heap cancelled the contract and called on the newly seated Board of Supervisors to renegotiate.  In a statement posted to the Maricopa County Recorder’s website, Heap suggested he would take legal action over “the Supervisors’ unwillingness to address these concerns.”

Heap did take legal action, and yesterday a Maricopa County Superior Court judge sided with the Recorder’s position.

According to the Court’s decision, the authority was delegated to a county’s recorder or an “other officer in charge of elections.”  But the order also stated that, “The recorder may subsequently withdraw his or her consent and reclaim his or her statutory authority or responsibility.”

The judge ordered that the Board of Supervisors “return to the Recorder’s direct custody and/or control the IT staff, servers, databases, software, websites, and equipment that were in the Recorder’s custody…prior to October of 2024…” and enjoined the Board of Supervisors “from further exercising any election functions delegated by the Legislature to the Recorder.”

The Board of Supervisors had argued that it had the authority to control funding and structure operations of the Recorder’s office, however, the judge rejected that claim, finding that the Board of Supervisors has a “non-discretionary duty to fund all reasonable and necessary expenses of the Recorder as set forth in Title 16 of Arizona Revised Statutes.”

Court order detailing responsibilities and authority delegation under Arizona Revised Statutes Title 16 for county recorders and boards of supervisors.

The post Big Win! Maricopa Superior Court Judge Orders Board of Supervisors to Restore Key Election Functions to Recorder’s Office appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Secretary Rubio Criticizes China’s Bullying for Detaining DOZENS of Panama-Flagged Cargo Ships

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April 20, 2026

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Rubio decries China’s bullying

Panama’s ships caught between the rock and a hard place.

While the Russia-Ukraine war brings danger to the Black Sea, the military conflicts in the Middle East brought about Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

But we’d do well not to forget about the vital Panama Canal and the geopolitical consequences of Donald J. Trump’s administration shutting China out of its infrastructure.

Last Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called out China’s ‘bullying’ for ‘detaining or holding up dozens of Panama-flagged ships’.

Even though the ships were held for a short period of time, it comes as a retaliation after Panama seized control of two ports on the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong-based company.

China denies the bullying allegations.

Associated Press reported:

“Panama has been caught in a broader rivalry between the United States and China after U.S. President Donald Trump accused Beijing last year of running the Panama Canal. The Trump administration sees the critical maritime trade route as strategically important, both commercially and militarily, and Trump has talked about retaking the Panama Canal since his campaign.

‘China’s decision to detain or otherwise impede Panama-flagged vessels engaged in lawful trade destabilizes supply chains, raises costs, and erodes confidence in the global trading system’, Rubio said on social media. ‘The United States stands with Panama against any retaliatory actions against its sovereignty and will always support our partners in the face of bullying’.”

No less than 75% of the ships detained for inspection in Chinese ports in March – 92 vessels – were Panama-flagged.

“The Panama-flagged ships were typically detained for a few days — as short as one day or as long as 10 days — before being released.

That is up drastically from the previous two months, when 19 out of 45 ships — or more than 40% — held in February were Panama-flagged, and 23 out of 71 — or over 30% — in January hung the Panama flag.”

Read more:

FBI Warns Congress of ‘Major’ Cyber Hack Involving China That Could Threaten National Security

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POWDER KEG EUROPE: Serbian President Vučić Says Explosives Were Found Near a Pipeline Carrying Gas From Russia to Serbia and Hungary

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April 20, 2026

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Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić

Serbia in the eye of the storm.

While the eyes of the world are fixated on the developing crisis in the Middle East, Europe is still getting more dangerous by the day, with an energy crisis worsening the socio-political mess and the divisions over the war in Ukraine.

In this context, countries that lead independent foreign policies, like Serbia, are under relentless pressure.

Today, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić came out publicly to disclose that explosives were found near a pipeline that carries gas from Russia to Serbia and Hungary.

Euronews reported:

“Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced on Sunday morning that army and police found explosives that had been placed near a pipeline that carries gas to Serbia and Hungary.

He said that ‘two large packages of explosives with detonators’ were found inside backpacks in northern Serbia’s Kanjiza, ‘a few hundred meters from the gas pipeline’.

The Balkan Stream pipeline is an extension of the TurkStream pipeline, and transfers Russian gas to both Serbia and Hungary.”

Vučić provided no details on who placed the explosives near the gas pipeline, or why – but the inference is clear: the Ukrainian regime of Volodymyr Zelensky is widely seen as working to disrupt the pipelines carrying cheap Russian oil and gas.

Vučić said there were ‘certain traces’ which he would not elaborate on.

“The latest news comes at a time when the integrity of gas pipeline infrastructure has been in the headlines. The Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, a separate pipeline that carries Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, has been the cause of a dispute between Hungary and Ukraine.”

Read more:

EU Threatens European Leaders That Participate in Russia’s May 9th ‘Victory Day’ Celebration – Slovak PM Fico Says ‘No One Can Stop Him From Going’ – Serbia’s Vucic Is Pressured to Skip Event

The post POWDER KEG EUROPE: Serbian President Vučić Says Explosives Were Found Near a Pipeline Carrying Gas From Russia to Serbia and Hungary appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Uniparty RINO Candidates Don’t Represent MAGA and Must Be Replaced in the Primaries One Race at a Time

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April 20, 2026

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Map of the United States featuring the Republican Party emblem and the text "Uniparty Cancer Infiltration" overlaid on a distressed American flag background.

Map of the United States featuring the Republican Party emblem and the text "Uniparty Cancer Infiltration" overlaid on a distressed American flag background.

Uniparty RINO candidates don’t represent MAGA and must be replaced in the primaries one race at a time. Guest Post by Martel Maxim For years, the Good Ole Boy (GOB) … Read more

The post Uniparty RINO Candidates Don’t Represent MAGA and Must Be Replaced in the Primaries One Race at a Time appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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