SB1422 - 492R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 16-314, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-314. Filing and form of nomination petitions; definition

A. Any person desiring to become a candidate at any election and to have the person's name printed on the official ballot shall file, within the same time and with the same officer as provided by section 16‑311, file a nomination petition in addition to the nomination paper required.

B. As used in For the purposes of this title, "nomination petition" means the form or forms used for obtaining the required number of signatures of qualified electors, which is circulated by or on behalf of the person wishing to become a candidate for a political office.

C. Nomination petitions shall be captioned "partisan nomination petition" or "nonpartisan nomination petition", followed by the language of the petition in substantially the following form:

Partisan Nomination Petition

" I, the undersigned, a qualified elector of the county of ______________, state of Arizona, and of (here name political division or district from which the nomination is sought) and a member of the _______________ party or a person who is registered as no party preference or independent as the party preference or who is registered with a political party that is not qualified for representation on the ballot, hereby nominate _______________ who resides at _______________ in the county of _______________ for the party nomination for the office of _______________ to be voted at the primary election to be held _______________ as representing the principles of such party, and I hereby declare that I am qualified to vote for this office and that I have not signed, and will not sign, any nomination petition for more persons than the number of candidates necessary to fill such office at the next ensuing election. I further declare that if I choose to use a post office box address on this petition, my residence address has not changed since I last reported it to the county recorder for purposes of updating my voter registration file."

Nonpartisan Nomination Petition

"I, the undersigned, a qualified elector of the county of _______________, state of Arizona, and of (here name political division or district from which the nomination is sought) hereby nominate _______________ who resides at _______________ in the county of _______________ for the office of ______________ to be voted at the _______________ election to be held _______________, and hereby declare that I am qualified to vote for this office and that I have not signed and will not sign any nomination petitions for more persons than the number of candidates necessary to fill such office at the next ensuing election. I further declare that if I choose to use a post office box address on this petition, my residence address has not changed since I last reported it to the county recorder for purposes of updating my voter registration file."

D. The nomination petition of a person seeking to fill an unexpired vacant term for any public office shall designate the expiration date of the term following the name of the office being sought.END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 16-315, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-315. Form of petitions

A. The nomination petitions shall be in substantially the following form:

1. Petitions shall be on paper fourteen inches wide and eight and one‑half inches long.

2. Petitions shall be headed by a caption stating the purpose of the petition, followed by the body of the petition stating the intent of the petitioners.

3. There shall be fifteen lines spaced three‑eighths of an inch apart and consecutively numbered one through fifteen.

4. The signature portion of the petition shall be divided into columns headed by the titles: signature; printed name; actual residence address, or description of place of residence or Arizona post office box address, city, or town or post office; and date of signing.

5. A photograph of the candidate may appear on the nomination petition.

B. The following shall appear on the petition:

Instructions for Circulators

1. All petitions shall be signed by circulator.

2. Circulator must be qualified to register to vote in this state.

3. Circulator's name shall be typed or printed under such person's signature.

4. Circulator's actual residence address or, if no street address, a description of residence location shall be included on the petition.

C. The secretary of state shall prepare sample nomination petition forms and distribute such forms to all election officers. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 16-321, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-321. Signing and certification of nomination petition

A. Each signer of a nomination petition shall sign only one petition for the same office unless more than one candidate is to be elected to such office, and in that case not more than the number of nomination petitions equal to the number of candidates to be elected to the office. A signature shall not be counted on a nomination petition unless the signature is on a sheet bearing the form prescribed by section 16‑314.

B. For the purposes of petitions filed pursuant to sections 16‑312, 16‑313, 16‑314 and 16‑341, each signer of a nomination petition shall be a voter who at the time of signing is a registered voter in the electoral district of the office the candidate is seeking.

C. If an elector signs more nomination petitions than permitted by subsection A of this section, the earlier signatures of the elector are deemed valid, as determined by the date of the signature as shown on the petitions. If the signatures by the elector are dated on the same day, all signatures by that elector on that day are deemed invalid. Any signature by that elector on a nomination petition on or after the date of the last otherwise valid signature is deemed invalid and shall not be counted.

D. Except as prescribed in section 16-341 for circulators of petitions for certain candidates for the office of presidential elector, the person before whom the signatures were written on the signature sheet shall be qualified to register to vote in this state pursuant to section 16‑101 and shall verify that each of the names on the petition was signed in his presence on the date indicated, and that in his belief each signer was a qualified elector who resides at the address given as the signer's residence on the date indicated and, if for a partisan election, that each signer is a member of the party from which the candidate is seeking nomination, or the signer is a member of a political party that is not entitled to continued representation on the ballot pursuant to section 16‑804 or the signer is registered as independent or no party preferred. The way the name appears on the petition shall be the name used in determining the validity of the name for any legal purpose pursuant to the election laws of this state. Signature and handwriting comparisons may be made.

E. The signature of a person who signs a nominating petition and who uses only an Arizona post office box address is valid if the person is otherwise properly registered to vote and is eligible to sign the nominating petition. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 16-351, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-351. Limitations on appeals of validity of nomination petitions; disqualification of candidate

A. Any elector filing any court action challenging the nomination of a candidate as provided for in this chapter shall do so no later than 5:00 p.m. of the tenth day, excluding Saturday, Sunday and other legal holidays, after the last day for filing nomination papers and petitions. The elector shall specify in the action the petition number, line number and basis for the challenge for each signature being challenged. Failure to specify this information shall result in the dismissal of the court action. Within ten days after the filing of the action, the superior court shall hear and render a decision on the matter. Such decision shall be appealable only to the supreme court, and notice of appeal shall be filed within five days after the decision of the superior court in the action. The supreme court shall hear and render a decision on the appeal promptly.

B. Any elector may challenge a candidate for any reason relating to qualifications for the office sought as prescribed by law, including age, residency or professional requirements, if applicable.

C. In any action challenging a nomination petition, the following persons are indispensable parties to the action and shall be named and served as defendants:

1. The candidate whose petition is the subject of the challenge.

2. The officer with whom the petitions are required to be filed.

3. The board of supervisors and the recorder of each county or the clerk of each city or town who are is responsible for preparing the ballots that contain the challenged candidate's name.

D. For the purposes of an action challenging nomination petitions, the board of supervisors and the recorder of each county or the clerk of each city or town responsible for preparing the ballots that contain the challenged candidate's name and each person filing a nomination petition under this chapter appoints the officer with whom the candidate files the nomination paper and petitions as the person's agent to receive service of process. Process in an action challenging a nomination petition shall be served immediately after the action is filed and in no event more than twenty‑four hours after filing the action, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays. Immediately upon on receipt of process served upon on the officer as agent for a person filing a nomination petition, the officer shall mail the process to the person and shall notify him the person by telephone of the filing of the action.

E. Notwithstanding the system used pursuant to section 16‑163, subsection D, the most current version of the general county register at the time of filing of a court action challenging a nomination petition shall constitute the official record to be used to determine on a prima facie basis by the challenger that the signer of a petition was not registered to vote at the residence address given, or at the address on the general county register if a mailing address was given, on the date of signing of the petition. This subsection does not preclude the challenged candidate from introducing into evidence a certified copy of the registration form of any signer of a petition dated on or before the date of the signing of the petition if the registration form is in the possession of the county recorder but has not yet been filed in the general county register.

F. In addition to the procedures set forth in this section, all petitions that have been submitted by a candidate who is found guilty of petition forgery shall be disqualified and that candidate shall not be eligible to seek election to a public office for a period of not less than five years.END_STATUTE