HB2304 - 501R

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

Section 1. Section 16-246, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-246. Early balloting; satellite locations; additional procedures

A. Within ninety‑three days before the presidential preference election and not later than 5:00 p.m. on the eleventh day preceding the election, any elector who is eligible to vote in the presidential preference election may make a verbal or signed, written request for an official early ballot to the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections for the county in which the elector is registered to vote. If the request is verbal, the requesting elector shall provide the date of birth and birthplace or other information that if compared to the voter registration records for that elector would confirm the identity of the elector.

B. Absent uniformed services voters or overseas voters who are otherwise eligible to vote in the election may vote as prescribed by sections 16‑543, 16‑543.01 and 16‑543.02. The list of candidates that is sent as prescribed by section 16‑543.01 shall be a list of all candidates who have qualified for the presidential preference ballot by the forty‑sixth day before the presidential preference election.

C. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections may establish on‑site early voting locations at the office of the county recorder or at other locations in the county deemed necessary or appropriate by the recorder. Early voting shall begin within the time limits prescribed in section 16‑542 unless otherwise prescribed by this section.

D. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall send by nonforwardable mail that is marked with the statement required by the postmaster to receive an address correction notification any early ballots that are requested pursuant to subsections A and B of this section and shall include a preaddressed envelope for the elector to return the completed ballot.

E. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall provide to each election board an appropriate alphabetized list of voters who have requested and have been sent an early ballot. Any person who is on that list of voters and who was sent an early ballot shall not vote at the polling place for that election precinct except as prescribed by section 16‑579, subsection B.

F. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections may provide for any of the following in the same manner prescribed by law for other elections:

1. Special election boards.

2. Emergency balloting for persons who experience an emergency after 5:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the presidential preference election and before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday immediately preceding the presidential preference election.

G. Sections 16‑550, 16‑551 and 16‑552 govern the use of early balloting for the presidential preference election. END_STATUTE

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

START_STATUTE16-315. Form of petitions; registration of circulators

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, description of place of residence or Arizona post office box address, city or town; 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 is not required to be a resident of this state but otherwise must be qualified to register to vote in this state and, if not a resident of this state, shall register as a circulator with the secretary of 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.

D. Circulators who are not residents of this state must be registered as circulators with The secretary of state before circulating petitions. The secretary of state shall provide for a method of RECEIVING service of PROCESS for those petition circulators who register pursuant to this subsection. The secretary of state shall ESTABLISH in the instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16-452 a procedure for REGISTERING circulators and receiving service of process. 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 is not required to be a resident of this state but otherwise shall be qualified to register to vote in this state pursuant to section 16‑101 and, if not a resident of this state, shall register as a circulator with the secretary of state. A circulator 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. A person who signs a nominating petition must use that person's actual residence address unless there is no actual residence address assigned by an official governmental entity or the person's actual residence is protected pursuant to section 16‑153. The signature of a person who signs a nominating petition and who uses only a description of the place of residence or an Arizona post office box address is valid if the person is otherwise properly registered to vote, has not moved since registering to vote and is eligible to sign the nominating petition. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 16-341, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-341. Nomination petition; method and time of filing; form; qualifications and number of petitioners required

A. Any qualified elector who is not a registered member of a political party that is recognized pursuant to this title may be nominated as a candidate for public office otherwise than by primary election or by party committee pursuant to this section.

B. This article shall not be used to place on the general election ballot the name of a political party which that fails to meet the qualifications specified in section 16‑802 or 16‑804, or the name of any candidate representing such party or the name of a candidate who has filed a nomination petition in the immediately preceding primary election and has failed to qualify as the result of an insufficient number of valid signatures.

C. A nomination petition stating the name of the office to be filled, the name and residence of the candidate and other information required by this section shall be filed with the same officer with whom primary nomination papers and petitions are required to be filed as prescribed in section 16‑311. Except for candidates for the office of presidential elector filed pursuant to this section, the petition shall be filed at the same time as primary nomination papers and petitions are required to be filed as prescribed by section 16‑311. The petition shall be signed only by voters who have not signed the nomination petitions of a candidate for the office to be voted for at that primary election.

D. The nomination petition shall be in substantially the following form:

"The undersigned, qualified electors of __________ county, state of Arizona, do hereby nominate __________, who resides at __________ in the county of __________, as a candidate for the office of __________ at the general (or special, as the case may be) election to be held on the __________ day of __________, _____.

I hereby declare that I have not signed the nomination petitions of any candidate for the office to be voted for at this primary election, and I do hereby select the following designation under which name the said candidate shall be placed on the official ballot (here insert such designation not exceeding three words in length as the signers may select)."

E. The nomination petition shall conform as nearly as possible to the provisions relating to nomination petitions of candidates to be voted for at primary elections and shall be signed by at least the number of persons who are registered to vote determined by calculating three per cent of the persons who are registered to vote of the state, county, subdivision or district for which the candidate is nominated who are not members of a political party that is qualified to be represented by an official party ballot at the next ensuing primary election and accorded representation on the general election ballot.

F. The percentage of persons who are registered to vote necessary to sign the nomination petition shall be determined by the total number of registered voters from other than political parties that are qualified to be represented by an official party ballot at the next ensuing primary election and accorded representation on the general election ballot in the state, county, subdivision or district on March 1 of the year in which the general election is held. Notwithstanding the method prescribed by subsection E of this section and this subsection for calculating the minimum number of signatures necessary, any person who is registered to vote in the state, county, subdivision or district for which the candidate is nominated is eligible to sign the nomination petition without regard to the signer's party affiliation.

G. For the purposes of this section, A nomination petition for the office of presidential elector any candidate may be circulated by a person who is not a resident of this state but who is otherwise eligible to register to vote in this state if that person registers as a circulator with the secretary of state before circulating petitions. The nomination petition for the office of PRESIDENTIAL elector shall include a group of names of candidates equal to the number of United States senators and representatives in Congress from this state instead of separate nomination petitions for each candidate for the office of presidential elector. A valid signature on a petition containing a group of presidential electors candidates is counted as a signature for the nomination of each of the candidates. The presidential candidate whom the candidates for presidential elector will represent shall designate in writing to the secretary of state the names of the candidates who will represent the presidential candidate before any signatures for the candidate can be accepted for filing. A nomination petition for the office of presidential elector shall be filed not less than sixty nor more than ninety days before the general election. The petition shall be signed only by qualified electors who have not signed the nomination petitions of a candidate for the office of presidential elector to be voted for at that election.

H. The secretary of state shall require in the instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16‑452 that persons who circulate nomination petitions pursuant to this section for the office of presidential elector and who are not residents of this state but who are otherwise eligible to register to vote in this state shall register as circulators with the office of the secretary of state before circulating petitions. The secretary of state shall provide for a method of receiving service of process for those petition circulators who are registered.

I. A person who files a nomination paper pursuant to this section for the office of president of the United States shall designate in writing to the secretary of state at the time of filing the name of the candidate's vice‑presidential running mate, the names of the presidential electors who will represent that candidate and a statement that is signed by the vice‑presidential running mate and the designated presidential electors and that indicates their consent to be designated. A nomination paper for each presidential elector designated shall be filed with the candidate's nomination paper. The number of presidential electors shall equal the number of United States senators and representatives in Congress from this state.

J. A candidate who does not file a timely nomination petition that complies with this section is not eligible to have the candidate's name printed on the official ballot for that office. The filing officer shall not accept the nomination paper of a candidate for state or local office unless the candidate provides or has provided all of the following:

1. The nomination petition required by this title.

2. A political committee statement of organization or the five hundred dollar threshold exemption statement for that office.

3. The financial disclosure statement as prescribed for candidates for that office. END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Section 16-343, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-343. Filling vacancy caused by death or incapacity or withdrawal of candidate

A. A vacancy occurring due to death, mental incapacity or voluntary withdrawal of a candidate after the close of petition filing but prior to a primary or general election shall be filled by the political party with which the candidate was affiliated as follows:

1. In the case of a United States senator or statewide candidate, the state executive committee of the candidate's political party shall nominate a candidate of the party's choice and shall file a nomination paper and affidavit complying with the requirements for candidates as stated in section 16‑311 in order to fill the vacancy.

2. In the case of a vacancy for the office of United States representative or the legislature, the party precinct committeemen of that congressional or legislative district shall nominate a candidate of the party's choice and shall file a nomination paper and affidavit complying with the requirements of section 16‑311.

3. In the case of a vacancy for a county or precinct office, the party county committee of counties with a population of less than two hundred fifty thousand persons according to the most recent United States decennial census and, in counties with a population of two hundred fifty thousand persons or more according to the most recent United States decennial census the county officers of the party together with the chairman of the party precinct committeemen in each legislative district of the county, shall nominate a candidate of the party's choice and shall file a nomination paper and affidavit complying with the requirements of section 16‑311 to fill such vacancy.

B. The nomination paper and affidavit required in subsection A of this section shall be filed with the office with which nomination petitions were to be filed at any time before the official ballots are printed.

C. Any meetings for the purpose of filing a nomination paper and affidavit provided for in this section shall be called by the chairman of such committee or legislative district, except that in the case of multicounty legislative or congressional districts the party county chairman of the county having the largest geographic area within such district shall call such meeting. The chairman or in his absence the vice‑chairman calling such meeting shall preside. The call to such meeting shall be mailed or given in person to each person entitled to participate therein no later than one day prior to such meeting. A majority of those present and voting shall be required to fill a vacancy pursuant to this section.

D. A vacancy which that is due to voluntary or involuntary withdrawal of the candidate and that occurs following the printing of official ballots shall not be filled in accordance with this section, however, prospective candidates shall comply with the provisions of section 16‑312. A candidate running as a write‑in candidate under this subsection shall file the nomination paper no later than 5:00 p.m. on the fifth day before the election.

E. Candidates nominated pursuant to subsection A of this section or a candidate running as a write‑in candidate under subsection D of this section may be a candidate who ran in the immediately preceding primary election for the office and failed to be nominated.

F. If a vacancy occurs as described in subsection A of this section for a state office, the secretary of state shall notify the various boards of supervisors as to the vacancy. The boards of supervisors shall notify the inspectors of the various precinct election boards in the county, district or precinct where a vacancy occurs. In the case of a city or town election, the city or town clerk shall notify the appropriate inspectors. A vacancy that occurs as prescribed in subsection D of this section due to the death or incapacity of the candidate shall not be filled and the secretary of state shall notify the appropriate county board of supervisors to post a notice of the death or incapacity of the candidate in each polling place along with notice that any votes cast for that candidate will be tabulated.

G. The inspectors shall post the notice of vacancy in the same manner as posting official write‑in candidates. In the case of a withdrawal of a candidate that occurs after the printing of official ballots, the inspectors shall post the notice of withdrawal in a conspicuous location in each polling place. END_STATUTE

Sec. 6. Section 16-411, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-411. Designation of election precincts and polling places; electioneering; wait times

A. Except as prescribed by subsection J of this section, the board of supervisors of each county, on or before December 1 of each year preceding the year of a general election, by an order, shall establish a convenient number of election precincts in the county and define the boundaries of the precincts. Such election precinct boundaries shall be so established as included within election districts prescribed by law for elected officers of the state and its political subdivisions including community college district precincts, except those elected officers provided for in titles 30 and 48.

B. Not less than twenty days before a general or primary election, and at least ten days before a special election, the board shall designate one polling place within each precinct where the election shall be held, except that:

1. On a specific finding of the board, included in the order or resolution designating polling places pursuant to this subsection, that no suitable polling place is available within a precinct, a polling place for such precinct may be designated within an adjacent precinct.

2. Adjacent precincts may be combined if boundaries so established are included in election districts prescribed by law for state elected officials and political subdivisions including community college districts but not including elected officials prescribed by titles 30 and 48. The officer in charge of elections may also split a precinct for administrative purposes. Any such polling places shall be listed in separate sections of the order or resolution.

3. On a specific finding of the board that the number of persons who are listed as permanent early voters pursuant to section 16‑544 is likely to substantially reduce the number of voters appearing at one or more specific polling places at that election, adjacent precincts may be consolidated by combining polling places and precinct boards for that election. The board of supervisors shall ensure that a reasonable and adequate number of polling places will be designated for that election. Any consolidated polling places shall be listed in separate sections of the order or resolution of the board.

C. If the board fails to designate the place for holding the election, or if it cannot be held at or about the place designated, the justice of the peace in the precinct, two days before the election, by an order, copies of which the justice of the peace shall immediately post in three public places in the precinct, shall designate the place within the precinct for holding the election. If there is no justice of the peace in the precinct, or if the justice of the peace fails to do so, the election board of the precinct shall designate and give notice of the place within the precinct of holding the election. For any election in which there are no candidates for elected office appearing on the ballot, the board may consolidate polling places and precinct boards and may consolidate the tabulation of results for that election if all of the following apply:

1. All affected voters are notified by mail of the change at least thirty‑three days before the election.

2. Notice of the change in polling places includes notice of the new voting location, notice of the hours for voting on election day and notice of the telephone number to call for voter assistance.

3. All affected voters receive information on early voting that includes the application used to request an early voting ballot.

D. The board is not required to designate a polling place for special district mail ballot elections held pursuant to article 8.1 of this chapter, but the board may designate one or more sites for voters to deposit marked ballots until 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election.

E. Except as provided in subsection F of this section, a public school shall provide sufficient space for use as a polling place for any city, county or state election when requested by the officer in charge of elections.

F. The principal of the school may deny a request to provide space for use as a polling place for any city, county or state election if, within two weeks after a request has been made, the principal provides a written statement indicating a reason the election cannot be held in the school, including any of the following:

1. Space is not available at the school.

2. The safety or welfare of the children would be jeopardized.

G. The board shall make available to the public as a public record a list of the polling places for all precincts in which the election is to be held including identification of polling place changes that were submitted to the United States department of justice for approval.

H. Except in the case of an emergency, any facility that is used as a polling place on election day or that is used as an early voting site during the period of early voting shall allow persons to electioneer and engage in other political activity outside of the seventy‑five foot limit prescribed by section 16‑515 in public areas and parking lots used by voters. This subsection shall not be construed to permit the temporary or permanent construction of structures in public areas and parking lots or the blocking or other impairment of access to parking spaces for voters.

I. The secretary of state shall provide through the instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452 the maximum allowable wait time for any election that is subject to section 16-204 and provide for a method to reduce voter wait time at the polls in the primary and general elections. The method shall consider at least all of the following for primary and general elections in each precinct:

1. The number of ballots voted in the prior primary and general elections.

2. The number of registered voters who voted early in the prior primary and general elections.

3. The number of registered voters and the number of registered voters who cast an early ballot for the current primary or general election.

4. The number of election board members and clerks and the number of rosters that will reduce voter wait time at the polls.

J. The board of supervisors of a county shall not change precinct lines during the period after July 31, 2008 and before January 1, 2011. The board of supervisors may subdivide an election precinct for administrative purposes or may provide for more than one polling place within the boundaries of the election precincts established for use in voting in elections held after July 31, 2008 and before January 1, 2011. In providing for multiple polling places within a precinct, the board of supervisors shall consider the particular population characteristics of each precinct in order to provide the voters the most reasonable access to the polls possible. END_STATUTE

Sec. 7. Section 16-449, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-449. Required test of equipment and programs; notice; procedures manual

A. Within the period of time before the election day prescribed by the secretary of state in the instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16‑452, the board of supervisors or other election officer in charge, or for an election involving state or federal candidates, the secretary of state, shall have the automatic tabulating equipment and programs tested to ascertain that the equipment and programs will correctly count the votes cast for all offices and on all measures. Public notice of the time and place of the test shall be given at least forty‑eight hours prior thereto by publication once in one or more daily or weekly newspapers published in the town, city or village using such equipment, if a newspaper is published therein, otherwise in a newspaper of general circulation therein. The test shall be observed by at least two election inspectors, who shall not be of the same political party, and shall be open to representatives of the political parties, candidates, the press and the public. The test shall be conducted by processing a preaudited group of ballots so punched or marked as to record a predetermined number of valid votes for each candidate and on each measure and shall include for each office one or more ballots which that have votes in excess of the number allowed by law in order to test the ability of the automatic tabulating equipment and programs to reject such votes. If any error is detected, the cause therefor shall be ascertained and corrected and an errorless count shall be made before the automatic tabulating equipment and programs are approved. A copy of a revised program shall be filed with the secretary of state within forty‑eight hours after the revision is made. If the error was created by automatic tabulating equipment malfunction, a report shall be filed with the secretary of state within forty‑eight hours after the correction is made, stating the cause and the corrective action taken. The test shall be repeated immediately before the start of the official count of the ballots in the same manner as set forth above. After the completion of the count, the programs used and the ballots shall be sealed, retained and disposed of as provided for paper ballots.

B. Electronic ballot tabulating systems shall be tested for logic and accuracy within seven days before their use for early balloting pursuant to the instructions and procedures manual for electronic voting systems that is adopted by the secretary of state as prescribed by section 16‑452. The instructions and procedures manual shall include procedures for the handling of ballots, the electronic scanning of ballots and any other matters necessary to ensure the maximum degree of correctness, impartiality and uniformity in the administration of an electronic ballot tabulating system.

C. Notwithstanding subsections A and B of this section, if a county uses accessible voting equipment to mark ballots and that accessible voting EQUIPMENT does not independently tabulate or tally votes, the secretary of state in cooperation with the county officer in charge of elections may designate a single date to test the logic and accuracy of both the accessible voting equipment and electronic ballot tabulating systems. END_STATUTE

Sec. 8. Section 16-502, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-502. Form and contents of ballot

A. Ballots shall be printed with black ink on white paper of sufficient thickness to prevent the printing thereon from being discernible from the back, and the same type shall be used for the names of all candidates. The ballots shall be headed "official ballot" in bold‑faced plain letters, with a heavy rule above and below the heading. Immediately below shall be placed the words "type of election, (date of election)" and the name of the county and state in which the election is held. The name or number of the precinct in which the election is held shall be placed on the ballot in a uniform location for all ballots. No other matter shall be placed or printed at the head of any ballot, except above the heading there may be a stub that contains the words "stub no. _____, register no. _____, to be torn off by inspector." The stub shall be separated from the ballot by a perforated line, so that it may be easily detached from the ballot. Instructions to the voter on marking the ballot may be printed below the heading. The official ballots shall be bound together in blocks of not less than five nor more than one hundred.

B. Immediately below the ballot heading shall be placed the following:

"Section One

Partisan Ballot

1. Put a mark according to the instructions next to the name of each candidate for each partisan office for whom you wish to vote.

2. If you wish to vote for a person whose name is not printed on the ballot, write such name in the blank space provided on the ballot or write‑in envelope and put a mark according to the instructions next to the name so written."

C. Immediately below the instructions for voting in section one there shall be placed in columns the names of the candidates of the several political parties. Next to each candidate's name there shall be printed in bold‑faced letters the name of the political party. At the head of each column shall be printed the names of the offices to be filled with the name of each office being of uniform type size. At the head of each column shall be printed in the following order the names of candidates for:

1. Presidential electors.

2. United States senator.

3. Representatives in Congress.

4. The several state offices.

5. The several county and precinct offices.

D. The names of candidates for the offices of state senator and state representative along with the district number shall be placed within the heading of each column to the right of the office name for state offices and immediately below the candidates for the office of governor. The number of the supervisorial district of which a candidate is a nominee shall be printed within the heading of each column to the right of the name of the office.

E. The lists of the candidates of the several parties shall be arranged with the names of the parties in descending order according to the votes cast for governor for that county in the most recent general election for the office of governor, commencing with the left‑hand column. In the case of political parties which did not have candidates on the ballot in the last general election, such parties shall be listed in alphabetical order below the parties which did have candidates on the ballot in the last general election. The names of all candidates nominated under section 16‑341 shall be placed in a single column below that of the recognized parties. Next to the name of each candidate, in parentheses, shall be printed the designation not to exceed three words in length as a three-letter abbreviation that is taken from the three words prescribed in the candidate's certificate of nomination.

F. Immediately below the designation of the office to be voted for shall appear the words: "Vote for not more than _________" (insert the number to be elected).

G. In each column at the right of the name of each candidate and on the same line there shall be a place for the voter to put a mark. Below the name of the last named candidate for each office there shall be as many blank lines as there are offices of the same title to be filled, with a place for the voter to put a mark unless write‑in envelopes are provided for that purpose. Upon the blank line the voter may write the name of any person for whom he desires to vote whose name is not printed, and next to the name so written he shall designate his choice by a mark as in the case of printed names.

H. When there are two or more candidates of the same political party for the same office, or more than one candidate for a judicial office, the names of all such candidates shall be so alternated on the ballots used in each election district that the name of each candidate shall appear substantially an equal number of times in each possible location. If there are fewer or the same number of candidates seeking office than the number to be elected, the rotation of names is not required and the names shall be placed in alphabetical order.

I. Immediately below section one of the ballot shall be placed the following:

"Section Two

Nonpartisan Ballot

1. Put a mark according to the instructions next to the name of each candidate for each nonpartisan office for whom you wish to vote.

3. Put a mark according to the instructions next to the word 'yes' (or for) for each proposition or question you wish to be adopted. Put a mark according to the instructions next to the word 'no' (or against) for each proposition or question you wish not to be adopted."

J. Immediately below the instructions for voting in section two shall be placed the names of the candidates for judges of the superior court standing for election pursuant to article VI, section 12, Constitution of Arizona, school district officials, justice justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of appeals, judges of the superior court standing for retention or rejection pursuant to article VI, section 38, Constitution of Arizona, and other nonpartisan officials in a column or in columns without partisan or other designation except the title of office in an order determined by the officer in charge of the election.

K. Immediately below the offices listed in subsection J of this section, the ballot shall contain a separate heading of any nonpartisan office for a vacant unexpired term and shall include the expiration date of the term of the vacated office.

L. All proposed constitutional amendments and other propositions or questions to be submitted to the voters shall be printed immediately below the names of candidates for nonpartisan positions in such order as the secretary of state, or if a city or town election, the city or town clerk, designates. Placement of county and local charter amendments, propositions or questions shall be determined by the officer in charge of the election. Except as provided by section 19‑125, each proposition or question shall be followed by the words "yes" and "no" or "for ______" and "against ______" as the nature of the proposition or question requires, and at the right of and next to each of such words shall be a place for the voter to put a mark according to the instructions that is similar in size to those places appearing opposite the names of the candidates, in which the voter may indicate his vote for or against such proposition or question by a mark as defined in section 16‑400.

M. Instead of printing the official and descriptive titles or the full text of each measure or question on the official ballot, the officer in charge of elections may print phrases on the official ballot that contain all of the following:

1. The number of the measure in reverse type and at least twelve point type.

2. The designation of the measure as prescribed by section 19‑125, subsection C or as a question, proposition or charter amendment, followed by the words "relating to..." and inserting the subject.

3. Either the statement prescribed by section 19‑125, subsection D that describes the effects of a "yes" vote and a "no" vote or, for other measures, the text of the question or proposition.

4. The words "yes" and "no" or "for" and "against", as may be appropriate and a place for the voter to put a mark.

N. For any ballot printed pursuant to subsection M of this section, the instructions on the official ballot shall direct the voter to the full text of the official and descriptive titles and the questions and propositions as printed on the sample ballot and posted in the polling place. END_STATUTE

Sec. 9. Section 16-515, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-515. "Seventy‑five foot limit" notices; posting; violation; classification; definitions

A. Except as prescribed in this section and section 16-580, a person shall not be allowed to remain inside the seventy-five foot limit while the polls are open, except for the purpose of voting, and except the election officials, one representative at any one time of each political party represented on the ballot who has been appointed by the county chairman of that political party and the challengers allowed by law, and no political or electioneering materials may be displayed and no electioneering may occur within the seventy-five foot limit. Voters having cast their ballots shall promptly move outside the seventy‑five foot limit.

B. The board of supervisors shall furnish, with the ballots for each polling place, three notices, printed in letters not less than two inches high, with the heading: "Seventy‑five foot limit" and underneath that heading the following:

No person shall be allowed to remain inside these limits while the polls are open, except for the purpose of voting, and except the election officials, one representative at any one time of each political party represented on the ballot who has been appointed by the county chairman of such political party, and the challengers allowed by law. Voters having cast their ballots shall at once retire without the seventy‑five foot limit. A person violating any provision of this notice is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

C. A minor voting in a simulated election at a polling place is subject to the same seventy‑five foot limit restrictions prescribed for a voter. Persons supervising or working in a simulated election in which minors vote may remain within the seventy‑five foot limit of the polling place. The inspector for the polling place shall exercise authority over all election and simulated election related activities at the polling place.

D. For an election that is held by an Indian tribe and that is held at a polling place at the same time and on the same date as any other election, the following apply:

1. A person who is voting is subject to the same seventy‑five foot limit restrictions prescribed for other voters.

2. An election official for the tribal election may remain within the seventy‑five foot limit for the polling place.

E. With the permission of the voter, a minor may enter and remain within the seventy‑five foot limit in order to accompany a voter into a polling place, an on‑site early voting facility and a voting booth while the voter is voting.

F. Any person violating this section is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

G. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Electioneering" means a demonstration of express support for or opposition to a candidate who appears on the ballot in that election, a ballot question that appears on the ballot in that election or a political party with one or more candidates who appear on the ballot in that election, and includes any use of a candidate's or political party's name or a ballot measure's name or numeric designation and any verbal expressions of opposition or support.

2. "Electioneering materials" means written or printed material or items, including articles of clothing, that express support for or opposition to a candidate who appears on the ballot in that election, a ballot question that appears on the ballot in that election or a political party with one or more candidates who appear on the ballot in that election. END_STATUTE

Sec. 10. Section 16-542, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-542. Request for ballot

A. Within ninety-three days before any election called pursuant to the laws of this state, an elector may make a verbal or signed request to the county recorder, or other officer in charge of elections for the applicable political subdivision of this state in whose jurisdiction the elector is registered to vote, for an official early ballot. In addition to name and address, the requesting elector shall provide the date of birth and state or country of birth or other information that if compared to the voter registration information on file would confirm the identity of the elector. If the request indicates that the elector needs a primary election ballot and a general election ballot, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall honor the request. For any partisan primary election, if the elector is not registered as a member of a political party that is entitled to continued representation on the ballot pursuant to section 16‑804, the elector shall designate the ballot of only one of the political parties that is entitled to continued representation on the ballot and the elector may receive and vote the ballot of only that one political party. The county recorder may establish on‑site early voting locations at the recorder's office, which shall be open and available for use beginning the same day that a county begins to send out the early ballots. The county recorder may also establish any other early voting locations in the county the recorder deems necessary.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, a request for an official early ballot from an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act of 1986 (P.L. 99‑410; 42 United States Code section 1973ff-6) or a voter whose information is protected pursuant to section 16‑153 that is received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections more than ninety‑three days before the election is valid. If requested by the absent uniformed services or overseas voter, or a voter whose information is protected pursuant to section 16‑153, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall provide to the requesting voter early ballot materials through the next two regularly scheduled general elections election for federal office immediately following receipt of the request unless a different period of time, which does not exceed the next two regularly scheduled general elections for federal office, is designated by the voter.

C. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail the early ballot and the envelope for its return postage prepaid to the address provided by the requesting elector within five days after receipt of the official early ballots from the officer charged by law with the duty of preparing ballots pursuant to section 16‑545, except that early ballot distribution shall not begin more than twenty-six days before the election. If an early ballot request is received on or before the thirtieth day before the election, the early ballot shall be distributed on the twenty-sixth day before the election.

D. Only the elector may be in possession of that elector's unvoted early ballot. If a complete and correct request is made by the elector within twenty‑six days before the election, the mailing must be made within forty‑eight hours after receipt of the request. Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays are excluded from the computation of the forty‑eight hour period prescribed by this subsection. If a complete and correct request is made by an absent uniformed services voter or an overseas voter before the election, the regular early ballot shall be transmitted by mail, by fax or by other electronic format approved by the secretary of state within twenty‑four hours after the early ballots are delivered pursuant to section 16‑545, subsection B, excluding Sundays.

E. In order to be complete and correct and to receive an early ballot by mail, an elector's request that an early ballot be mailed to the elector's residence or temporary address must include all of the information prescribed by subsection A of this section and must be received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections no later than 5:00 p.m. on the eleventh day preceding the election. An elector who appears personally no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the election at an on‑site early voting location that is established by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall be given a ballot and permitted to vote at the on‑site location. If an elector's request to receive an early ballot is not complete and correct but complies with all other requirements of this section, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall attempt to notify the elector of the deficiency of the request.

F. Unless an elector specifies that the address to which an early ballot is to be sent is a temporary address, the recorder may use the information from an early ballot request form to update voter registration records.

G. The county recorder or other officer in charge of early balloting shall provide an alphabetized list of all voters in the precinct who have requested and have been sent an early ballot to the election board of the precinct in which the voter is registered not later than the day prior to the election.

H. As a result of an emergency occurring between 5:00 p.m. on the second Friday preceding the election and 5:00 p.m. on the Monday preceding the election, qualified electors may request to vote early in the manner prescribed by the county recorder of their respective county. For the purposes of this subsection, "emergency" means any unforeseen circumstances that would prevent the elector from voting at the polls.

I. A candidate or political committee may distribute early ballot request forms to voters. If the early ballot request forms include a printed address for return to an addressee other than a political subdivision, the addressee shall be the candidate or political committee that paid for the printing and distribution of the request forms. All early ballot request forms that are received by a candidate or political committee shall be transmitted as soon as practicable to the political subdivision that will conduct the election. END_STATUTE

Sec. 11. Repeal

Section 16-543.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is repealed.

Sec. 12. Section 16-544, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-544. Permanent early voting list

A. Any voter may request to be included on a permanent list of voters to receive an early ballot for any election for which the county voter registration roll is used to prepare the election register. The county recorder of each county shall maintain the permanent early voting list as part of the voter registration roll.

B. In order to be included on the permanent early voting list, the voter shall make a written request specifically requesting that the voter's name be added to the permanent early voting list for all elections in which the applicant is eligible to vote. A permanent early voter request form shall conform to requirements prescribed in the instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16‑452. The application shall allow for the voter to provide the voter's name, residence address, mailing address in the voter's county of residence, date of birth and signature. The voter shall not list a mailing address that is outside of the voter's county of residence this state for the purpose of the permanent early voting list unless the voter is an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act of 1986 (P.L. 99-410; 42 United States Code section 1973ff‑6). In lieu of the application, the applicant may submit a written request that contains the required information.

C. On receipt of a request to be included on the permanent early voting list, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall compare the signature on the request form with the voter's signature on the voter's registration form and, if the request is from the voter, shall mark the voter's registration file as a permanent early ballot request.

D. Not less than ninety days before any polling place election scheduled in March or August, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail to all voters who are eligible for the election and who are included on the permanent early voting list an election notice by nonforwardable mail that is marked with the statement required by the postmaster to receive an address correction notification. If an election is not formally called by a jurisdiction by the one hundred twentieth day before the election, the recorder or other officer in charge of elections is not required to send the election notice. The notice shall include the dates of the elections that are the subject of the notice, the dates that the voter's ballot is expected to be mailed and the address where the ballot will be mailed. If the upcoming election is a partisan open primary election and the voter is not registered as a member of one of the political parties that is recognized for purposes of that primary, the notice shall include information on the procedure for the voter to designate a political party ballot. The notice shall be delivered with return postage prepaid and shall also include a means for the voter to do any of the following:

1. Change the mailing address for the voter's ballot to another location in the voter's county of residence.

2. Update the voter's residence address in the voter's county of residence.

3. Request that the voter not be sent a ballot for the upcoming election or elections indicated on the notice.

E. If the notice that is mailed to the voter is returned undeliverable by the postal service, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall take the necessary steps to contact the voter at the voter's new residence address in order to update that voter's address or to move the voter to inactive status as prescribed in section 16‑166, subsection A. If a voter is moved to inactive status, the voter shall be removed from the permanent early voting list. If the voter is removed from the permanent early voting list, the voter shall only be added to the permanent early voting list again if the voter submits a new request pursuant to this section.

F. Not later than the first day of early voting, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail an early ballot to all eligible voters included on the permanent early voting list in the same manner prescribed in section 16‑542, subsection C. If the voter has not returned the notice or otherwise notified the election officer within forty‑five days before the election that the voter does not wish to receive an early ballot by mail for the election or elections indicated, the ballot shall automatically be scheduled for mailing.

G. If a voter who is on the permanent early voting list is not registered as a member of a recognized political party and fails to notify the county recorder of the voter's choice for political party ballot within forty-five days before a partisan open primary election, the following apply:

1. The voter shall not automatically be sent a ballot for that partisan open primary election only and the voter's name shall remain on the permanent early voting list for future elections.

2. To receive an early ballot for the primary election, the voter shall submit the voter's choice for political party ballot to the county recorder.

H. After a voter has requested to be included on the permanent early voting list, the voter shall be sent an early ballot by mail automatically for any election at which a voter at that residence address is eligible to vote until any of the following occurs:

1. The voter requests in writing to be removed from the permanent early voting list.

2. The voter's registration or eligibility for registration is moved to inactive status or canceled as otherwise provided by law.

3. The notice sent by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections is returned undeliverable and the county recorder or officer in charge of elections is unable to contact the voter to determine the voter's continued desire to remain on the list.

I. A voter may make a written request at any time to be removed from the permanent early voting list. The request shall include the voter's name, residence address, date of birth and signature. On receipt of a completed request to remove a voter from the permanent early voting list, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall remove the voter's name from the list as soon as practicable.

J. An absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act of 1986 (P.L. 99‑410; 42 United States Code section 1973ff‑6) is eligible to be placed on the permanent early voting list pursuant to this section.

K. A voter's failure to vote an early ballot once received does not constitute grounds to remove the voter from the permanent early voting list. END_STATUTE

Sec. 13. Section 16-602, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-602. Removal of ballots from ballot boxes; disposition of ballots folded together or excessive ballots; designated margin; hand counts; vote count verification committee

A. For any primary, special or general election in which the votes are cast on an electronic voting machine or tabulator, the election judge shall compare the number of votes cast as indicated on the machine or tabulator with the number of votes cast as indicated on the poll list and the number of provisional ballots cast and that information shall be noted in a written report prepared and submitted to the officer in charge of elections along with other tally reports.

B. For each countywide primary, special, general and presidential preference election, the county officer in charge of the election shall conduct a hand count at one or more secure facilities. The hand count is not subject to the live video requirements of section 16-621, subsection C, but the party representatives who are observing the hand count may bring their own video cameras in order to record the hand count. The recording shall not interfere with the conduct of the hand count and the officer in charge of the election may prohibit from recording or remove from the facility persons who are taking actions to disrupt the count. The sole act of recording the hand count does not constitute sufficient grounds for the officer in charge of the election to prohibit observers from recording or to remove them from the facility. The hand count shall be conducted in the following order:

1. At least two per cent of the precincts in that county, or two precincts, whichever is greater, shall be selected at random from a pool consisting of every precinct in that county. The county political party chairman for each political party that is entitled to continued representation on the state ballot or the chairman's designee shall conduct the selection of the precincts to be hand counted. The precincts shall be selected by lot without the use of a computer, and the order of selection by the county political party chairmen shall also be by lot. The selection of the precincts shall not begin until all ballots voted in the precinct polling places have been delivered to the central counting center. The unofficial vote totals from all precincts shall be made public before selecting the precincts to be hand counted. Only the ballots cast in the polling places and ballots from direct recording electronic machines shall be included in the hand counts conducted pursuant to this section. Provisional ballots, conditional provisional ballots and write-in votes shall not be included in the hand counts and the early ballots shall be grouped separately by the officer in charge of elections for purposes of a separate manual audit pursuant to subsection F of this section.

2. The races to be counted on the ballots from the precincts that were selected pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection for each primary, special and general election shall include up to five contested races. After the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections separates the primary ballots by political party, the races to be counted shall be determined by selecting by lot without the use of a computer from those ballots as follows:

(a) For a general election, one statewide ballot measure, unless there are no measures on the ballot.

(b) One contested statewide race for statewide office.

(c) One contested race for federal office, either United States senate or United States house of representatives. If the United States house of representatives race is selected, the names of the candidates may vary among the sampled precincts.

(d) One contested race for state legislative office, either state house of representatives or state senate. In either case, the names of the candidates may vary among the sampled precincts.

(e) If there are fewer than four contested races resulting from the selections made pursuant to subdivisions (a) through (d) and if there are additional contested federal, statewide or legislative races or ballot measures, additional contested races shall be selected by lot not using a computer until four races have been selected or until no additional contested federal, statewide or legislative races or ballot measures are available for selection.

(f) If there are no contested races as prescribed by this paragraph, a hand count shall not be conducted for that precinct for that election.

3. For the presidential preference election, select by lot two per cent of the polling places designated and used pursuant to section 16‑248 and perform the hand count of those ballots.

4. For the purposes of this section, a write-in candidacy in a race does not constitute a contested race.

5. In elections in which there are candidates for president, the presidential race shall be added to the four categories of hand counted races.

6. Each county chairman of a political party that is entitled to continued representation on the state ballot or the chairman's designee shall select by lot the individual races to be hand counted pursuant to this section.

7. The county chairman of each political party shall designate and provide the number of election board members as designated by the county officer in charge of elections who shall perform the hand count under the supervision of the county officer in charge of elections. For each precinct that is to be audited, the county chairmen shall designate at least two board workers who are registered members of any or no political party to assist with the audit. Any qualified elector from this state may be a board worker without regard to party designation. The county election officer shall provide for compensation for those board workers, not to include travel, meal or lodging expenses. If there are less than two persons for each audited precinct available to participate on behalf of each recognized political party, the recorder or officer in charge of elections, with the approval of at least two county party chairpersons in the county in which the shortfall occurs, shall substitute additional individual electors who are provided by any political party from anywhere in the state without regard to party designation to conduct the hand count. A county party chairman shall approve only those substitute electors who are provided by the county chairman's political party. The political parties shall provide to the recorder or officer in charge of elections in writing the names of those persons intending to participate in the hand count at the audited precincts not later than 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday preceding the election. If the total number of board workers provided by all parties is less than four times the number of precincts to be audited, the recorder or officer in charge of elections shall notify the parties of the shortage by 9:00 a.m. on the Wednesday preceding the election. The hand count shall not proceed unless the political parties provide the recorder or officer in charge of elections, in writing, a sufficient number of persons by 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the election and a sufficient number of persons, pursuant to this paragraph, arrive to perform the hand count. The recorder or officer in charge of elections may prohibit persons from participating in the hand count if they are taking actions to disrupt the count or are unable to perform the duties as assigned. For the hand count to proceed, no more than seventy-five per cent of the persons performing the hand count shall be from the same political party.

8. If a political party is not represented by a designated chairperson within a county, the state chairperson for that political party, or a person designated by the state chairperson, may perform the actions required by the county chairperson as specified in this section.

C. If the randomly selected races result in a difference in any race that is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, the results of the electronic tabulation constitute the official count for that race. If the randomly selected races result in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, a second hand count of those same ballots and races shall be performed. If the second hand count results in a difference in any race that is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation for those same ballots, the electronic tabulation constitutes the official count for that race. If the second hand count results in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation for those same ballots, the hand count shall be expanded to include a total of twice the original number of randomly selected precincts. Those additional precincts shall be selected by lot without the use of a computer.

D. In any expanded count of randomly selected precincts, if the randomly selected precinct hand counts result in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, the final hand count shall be extended to include the entire jurisdiction for that race. If the jurisdictional boundary for that race would include any portion of more than one county, the final hand count shall not be extended into the precincts of that race that are outside of the county that is conducting the expanded hand count. If the expanded hand count results in a difference in that race that is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, the electronic tabulation constitutes the official count for that race.

E. If a final hand count is performed for an entire jurisdiction for a race, the final hand count shall be repeated for that race until a hand count for that race for the entire jurisdiction results in a count that is identical to one other hand count for that race for the entire jurisdiction and that hand count constitutes the official count for that race.

F. After the electronic tabulation of early ballots and at one or more times selected by the chairman of the political parties entitled to continued representation on the ballot or the chairman's designee, the chairmen or the chairmen's designees shall randomly select one or more batches of early ballots that have been tabulated to include at least one batch from each machine used for tabulating early ballots and those ballots shall be securely sequestered by the county recorder or officer in charge of elections along with their unofficial tally reports for a postelection manual audit. The chairmen or the chairmen's designees shall randomly select from those sequestered early ballots a number equal to one per cent of the total number of early ballots cast or five thousand early ballots, whichever is less. From those randomly selected early ballots, the county officer in charge of elections shall conduct a manual audit of the same races that are being hand counted pursuant to subsection B of this section. If the manual audit of the early ballots results in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronically tabulated results for those same early ballots, the manual audit shall be repeated for those same early ballots. If the second manual audit results in a difference in that race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronically tabulated results for those same early ballots, the manual audit shall be expanded only for that race to a number of additional early ballots equal to one per cent of the total early ballots cast or an additional five thousand ballots, whichever is less, to be randomly selected from the batch or batches of sequestered early ballots. If the expanded early ballot manual audit results in a difference for that race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to any of the earlier manual counts for that race, the manual counts shall be repeated for that race until a manual count results in a difference in that race that is less than the designated margin. If at any point in the manual audit of early ballots the difference between any manual count of early ballots is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those ballots, the electronic tabulation shall be included in the canvass and no further manual audit of the early ballots shall be conducted.

G. During any hand count of early ballots, the county officer in charge of elections and election board workers shall attempt to determine the intent of the voter in casting the ballot.

H. Notwithstanding any other law, the county officer in charge of elections shall retain custody of the ballots for purposes of performing any required hand counts and the officer shall provide for security for those ballots.

I. The hand counts prescribed by this section shall begin within twenty‑four hours after the closing of the polls and shall be completed before the canvassing of the election for that county. The results of those hand counts shall be provided to the secretary of state, who shall make those results publicly available on the secretary of state's web site website.

J. For any county in which a hand count has been expanded to all precincts in the jurisdiction, the secretary of state shall make available the escrowed source code for that county to the superior court. The superior court shall appoint a special master to review the computer software. The special master shall have expertise in software engineering, shall not be affiliated with an election software vendor nor with a candidate, shall sign and be bound by a nondisclosure agreement regarding the source code itself and shall issue a public report to the court and to the secretary of state regarding the special master's findings on the reasons for the discrepancies. The secretary of state shall consider the reports for purposes of reviewing the certification of that equipment and software for use in this state.

K. The vote count verification committee is established in the office of the secretary of state and all of the following apply:

1. At least thirty days before the 2006 primary election, the secretary of state shall appoint seven persons to the committee, no more than three of whom are members of the same political party.

2. Members of the committee shall have expertise in any two or more of the areas of advanced mathematics, statistics, random selection methods, systems operations or voting systems.

3. A person is not eligible to be a committee member if that person has been affiliated with or received any income in the preceding five years from any person or entity that provides election equipment or services in this state.

4. The vote count verification committee shall meet and establish one or more designated margins to be used in reviewing the hand counting of votes as required pursuant to this section. The committee shall review and consider revising the designated margins every two years for use in the applicable elections. The committee shall provide the designated margins to the secretary of state at least ten days before the primary election and at least ten days before the general election, and the secretary of state shall make that information publicly available on the secretary of state's web site website.

5. Members of the vote count verification committee are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses pursuant to title 38, chapter 4, article 2. The committee is a public body and its meetings are subject to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1 and its reports and records are subject to title 39, chapter 1. END_STATUTE

Sec. 14. Section 16-645, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-645. Canvass and return of precinct vote; declaring nominee of party; certificate of nomination; write‑in candidates

A. When the board of supervisors, or the governing body of a city or town, has completed its canvass of precinct returns, the person having the largest number of votes, or if more than one candidate is necessary, those candidates to the required number who have received the largest number of votes for the nomination for an office in the political party of which he was set forth on the ballot as a candidate for the nomination, shall be declared the nominee of the party for that office and shall be given a certificate of nomination therefor by the board or governing body, which shall entitle him to have his name placed upon the official ballot at the ensuing election as the nominee of the party for the office. When canvassing write‑in votes the apparent intent of the voter shall be taken into consideration to the extent possible and the standard prescribed for federal write-in candidates in section 16-543.02, subsection C applies.

B. The board of supervisors shall deliver the canvass to the secretary of state within ten days after the primary election, and the secretary of state shall on or before the second Monday following the primary election canvass the return and issue the certification of a letter declaring nomination as provided in this section to the nominees who filed nominating petitions and papers with the secretary of state pursuant to section 16‑311, subsection D. For any partisan primary election, the governing body or officer in charge of elections shall prepare and transmit to the secretary of state along with the official canvass the total by party of partisan ballots selected in that primary election by voters who registered as no party preference, as independents or as members of a political party that is not qualified for representation on the ballot.

C. A certificate of election shall not be issued to a write‑in candidate for precinct committeeman unless he receives a number of votes equivalent to at least the same number of signatures required by section 16‑322 for nominating petitions for the same office.

D. Except as provided in subsection C of this section, a certificate of letter declaring nomination shall not be issued to a write‑in candidate of a party which that has not qualified for continued representation on the official ballot pursuant to section 16‑804 unless he receives a plurality of the votes of the party for the office for which he is a candidate.

E. Except as provided by subsection C of this section, a certificate of letter declaring nomination shall not be issued to a write‑in candidate of a party qualified for continued representation on the official ballot unless he receives a number of votes equivalent to at least the same number of signatures required by section 16‑322 for nominating petitions for the same office.

F. A certificate of election shall not be issued to presidential electors who are pledged to a write‑in candidate for president unless that candidate received the highest number of votes cast for the office of president. END_STATUTE

Sec. 15. Section 16-801, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-801. Representation of new party on ballot at primary and general elections

A. A new political party may become eligible for recognition and shall be represented by an official party ballot at the next ensuing regular primary election and accorded a column on the official ballot at the succeeding general election upon filing with the secretary of state a petition signed by a number of qualified electors equal to not less than one and one‑third per cent of the total votes cast for governor at the last preceding general election at which a governor was elected. The petition shall:

1. Bear the certification of the county recorder of each county that the signatures on the petition have been examined and that these are signatures of qualified electors of the county.

2. Be verified by the affidavit of ten qualified electors of the state, asking that the signers thereof be recognized as a new political party. The status as qualified electors of the signers of the affidavit shall be certified by the county recorder of the county in which they reside.

3. Be in substantially the form prescribed by section 16‑315.

4. Be captioned "petition for political party recognition".

B. Notwithstanding any other law, on recognition as a political party that is represented by an official party ballot at the primary election and accorded a ballot column at the succeeding general election, a new political party is entitled to representation as a political party on the official ballot through the next two regularly scheduled general elections for federal office immediately following recognition of the political party. After these two regularly scheduled general elections for federal office, the political party is ineligible for further representation on the ballot unless it qualifies for continued representation on the ballot as prescribed in section 16-804 or it files a new petition for recognition as a new political party pursuant to this section and section 16-803.END_STATUTE

Sec. 16. Section 16-902.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-902.01. Registration of political committees; contents; amendment

A. Each political committee that intends to accept contributions or make expenditures of more than five hundred dollars shall file a statement of organization with the filing officer in the format prescribed by the filing officer before accepting contributions, making expenditures, distributing any campaign literature or circulating petitions. Each political committee that intends to accept contributions or make expenditures of five hundred dollars or less shall file a signed exemption statement in a form prescribed by the filing officer that states that intention before making any expenditures, accepting any contributions, distributing any campaign literature or circulating petitions. If a political committee that has filed a five hundred dollar threshold exemption statement receives contributions or makes expenditures of more than five hundred dollars, that political committee shall file a statement of organization with the filing officer in the format prescribed by the filing officer within five business days after exceeding the five hundred dollar limit.

B. The statement of organization of a political committee shall include all of the following:

1. The name, address and type of committee.

2. The name, address, relationship and type of any sponsoring organization.

3. The names, addresses, telephone numbers, occupations and employers of the chairman and treasurer of the committee.

4. In the case of a candidate's campaign committee, the name, address, office sought and party affiliation of the candidate.

5. A listing of all banks, safety deposit boxes or other depositories used by the committee.

6. A statement that the chairman and treasurer have read all of the applicable laws relating to campaign FINANCE and reporting.

C. Except as prescribed by subsection E of this section, on the filing of a statement of organization, a political committee shall be issued an identification number in the format prescribed by the filing officer.

D. The political committee shall file an amended statement of organization reporting any change in the information prescribed in subsections B and F of this section within five business days after the change.

E. A standing political committee shall file a statement of organization with the secretary of state and in each jurisdiction in which the committee is active, and only the secretary of state shall issue an identification number for the committee. The statement of organization shall include a statement with the notarized signature of the chairman or treasurer of the standing political committee that declares the committee's status as a standing political committee. The secretary of state may charge an annual fee for the filing.

F. For a political committee that makes expenditures in an attempt to influence the results of a ballot proposition election, the statement of organization shall include in the name of the political committee the official serial number for the petition, if assigned, and a statement as to whether the political committee supports or opposes the passage of the ballot measure. On completion of the designation of statewide ballot propositions by number as prescribed in section 19‑125, the secretary of state is authorized to and shall amend the name of the political committee by attaching to the statement of organization the ballot proposition number as a substitute for the official serial number in the name of the political committee. The secretary of state shall promptly notify the political committee of the amended political committee name and shall make that information available to the public. END_STATUTE

Sec. 17. Section 16-903, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-903. Candidate's campaign committees; exploratory committees; designation; candidate as agent; civil penalty

A. Each candidate who intends to receive contributions or make expenditures of more than five hundred dollars in connection with a campaign for office shall designate in the format prescribed by the filing officer a political committee for each election to serve as the candidate's campaign committee. The candidate shall make the designation pursuant to this subsection by filing a statement of organization before making any expenditures, accepting any contributions, distributing any campaign literature or circulating any petitions. Each candidate who intends to receive contributions or make expenditures of five hundred dollars or less shall file a signed exemption statement in the format prescribed by the filing officer that states that intention before making any expenditures, accepting any contributions, distributing any campaign literature or circulating petitions. If a candidate who has filed a five hundred dollar exemption statement receives contributions or makes expenditures of more than five hundred dollars, that candidate shall file a statement of organization with the filing officer within five business days after exceeding the five hundred dollar limit.

B. An individual who receives contributions or makes expenditures of more than five hundred dollars for the purpose of determining whether the individual will become a candidate for election to an office in this state shall designate in the format prescribed by the filing officer a political committee to serve as the individual's exploratory committee. The individual shall make the designation pursuant to this subsection before making any expenditures, accepting any contributions, circulating any petitions or distributing any campaign literature.

C. An individual may have only one exploratory committee in existence at one time. A candidate may have only one campaign committee designated for each election, but a candidate may have more than one campaign committee simultaneously in existence.

D. A political committee that supports or has supported another candidate or more than one candidate may not be designated as a candidate's campaign committee.

E. Any candidate who receives a contribution or any loan for use in connection with the campaign of that candidate for election or who makes a disbursement in connection with that campaign shall be deemed as having received the contribution or loan or as having made the disbursement as an agent of the candidate's campaign committee for purposes of this article.

F. An elected official is not deemed to have offered himself for nomination or election to an office or to have made a formal, public declaration of candidacy within the meaning of section 38‑296 solely by his designation of a candidate campaign committee.

G. After designating an exploratory committee, A candidate may lawfully collect signatures on nomination petitions and receive contributions.

G. H. A person who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty imposed as prescribed in section 16‑924 of up to three times the amount of money that has been received, expended or promised in violation of this section or up to three times the value in money for an equivalent of money or other things of value that have been received, expended or promised in violation of this section. END_STATUTE

Sec. 18. Section 16-912, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-912. Candidates and independent expenditures; campaign literature and advertisement sponsors; identification; civil penalty

A. A political committee that makes an expenditure for campaign literature or advertisements that expressly advocate the election or defeat of any candidate or that make any solicitation of contributions to any political committee shall be registered pursuant to this chapter at the time of distribution, placement or solicitation and shall include on the literature or advertisement the words "paid for by" followed by the name of the committee that appears on its statement of organization or five hundred dollar exemption statement.

B. If the expenditure for the campaign literature or advertisements by a political committee is an independent expenditure, the political committee, in addition to the disclosures required by subsection A of this section, shall include on the literature or advertisement the names and telephone numbers of the three political committees making the largest contributions to the political committee making the independent expenditure. If an acronym is used to name any political committee outlined in this section, the name of any sponsoring organization of the political committee shall also be printed or spoken. For purposes of determining the three contributors to be disclosed, the contributions of each political committee to the political committee making the independent expenditure during the one year period before the election being affected are aggregated.

C. The provisions of Subsection A of this section do does not apply to bumper stickers, pins, buttons, pens and similar small items on which the statements required in subsection A of this section cannot be conveniently printed or to signs paid for by a candidate with campaign monies or by a candidate's campaign committee or to a solicitation of contributions by a separate segregated fund from those persons it may solicit pursuant to sections 16‑920 and 16‑921.

D. The disclosures required pursuant to this section shall be printed clearly and legibly in a conspicuous manner or, if the advertisement is broadcast on a telecommunications system, the disclosure shall be spoken. For communications that are broadcast on a telecommunications system or other medium that can provide a viewable DISCLOSURE and a spoken DISCLOSURE, the DISCLOSURE may be made in printed format only and a spoken disclosure is not required.

E. A person who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty of up to three times the cost of producing and distributing the literature or advertisement. This civil penalty shall be imposed as prescribed in section 16‑924. END_STATUTE

Sec. 19. Section 16-915.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-915.01. Disposal of surplus monies; transfer of debt

A. A political committee shall dispose of surplus monies only as follows:

1. Retain surplus monies for use in a subsequent election, which includes a transfer by an individual's exploratory committee or a candidate's campaign committee to that individual's subsequent exploratory committee or that candidate's campaign committee designated for a subsequent election.

2. Return surplus monies to the contributor to the extent records are available permitting such return.

3. Contribute surplus monies to the county, state or local committee of a political party.

4. Donate the surplus monies to a charitable organization that qualifies under section 501(c)(3) of the United States internal revenue code.

5. In the case of a political committee other than an individual's exploratory committee or a candidate's committee, contribute surplus monies to a candidate's campaign committee if the contribution is within the limitations of section 16‑905.

6. Donate surplus monies to a political committee other than an individual's exploratory committee or to a candidate's campaign committee.

7. Subject to the restrictions in section 41-133, contribute surplus monies to the individual's officeholder expense account.

7. 8. Dispose of the surplus monies in any other lawful manner.

B. Surplus monies shall not be used for or converted to the personal use of the designating individual, in the case of an individual's exploratory committee, or a candidate, in the case of a candidate's campaign committee, or any person related to the candidate by blood or marriage. Nothing in this subsection precludes the repayment of a loan made by the designating individual or candidate to his campaign.

C. An individual's exploratory committee or a candidate's campaign committee may transfer its debts and obligations to that individual's subsequent exploratory committee or that candidate's campaign committee designated for a subsequent election. END_STATUTE

Sec. 20. Section 16-918, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-918. Campaign finance reports; notice; civil penalty; prohibition on candidacy

A. If a political committee fails to file a report in a timely manner as required by this chapter, the filing officer shall send written notice of the delinquency of the report to the political committee and the candidate, in the case of the candidate's campaign committee, or to the designating individual, in the case of an individual's exploratory committee. The notice shall be sent by certified mail within fifteen days after the filing officer determines there may be a failure to file a campaign finance report. The notice shall provide with reasonable particularity the nature of the failure and a statement of the penalties provided in this section.

B. A political committee, or in the case of a candidate's campaign committee, the candidate, or in the case of an exploratory committee, the designating individual, is liable for a late penalty of ten dollars for each business day after failure to make or file a campaign finance report that is required pursuant to this chapter up to a maximum of four hundred fifty dollars. The filing officer shall not accept a campaign report unless any penalties owed as a result of this section or any penalties imposed pursuant to section 16‑924 are paid with the report.

C. A political committee, or in the case of a candidate's campaign committee, the candidate, or in the case of an exploratory committee, the designating individual, that has failed to file within fifteen days after receiving a notice of delinquency pursuant to subsection A of this section is liable for a civil penalty of twenty‑five dollars for each subsequent day that the filing is late. This penalty shall be assessed pursuant to section 16‑924.

D. For the purposes of this section, there is a failure to make and file a campaign finance report by the treasurer, the designating individual, in the case of an exploratory committee, the candidate, in the case of a candidate's campaign committee, and for all other political committees, the chairman, if any of the following occurs:

1. The report is not filed in a timely manner as prescribed by section 16‑913.

2. The report is not signed in accordance with section 16‑913.

3. A good faith effort is not made to substantially complete the report as prescribed by section 16‑915.

E. It is a defense to an enforcement action brought pursuant to this section if good cause is shown by the treasurer, the designating individual, in the case of an exploratory committee, or the candidate, in the case of a candidate's campaign committee, for the failure to make and file a campaign finance report. For the purposes of this subsection, "good cause" includes an illness or absence from this state at the time the campaign finance report was due or the written notice of delinquency was delivered if the illness or absence reasonably prevented the treasurer, designating individual or candidate from filing the report or receiving the written notice.

F. In addition to the enforcement actions prescribed by this section, a person who was a candidate for nomination or election to any local or state office and who after written notice pursuant to this section failed to make and file a campaign finance report as required by this chapter is not eligible to be a candidate for nomination or election to any local or state office for five years after the last failure to make and file a campaign finance report occurred. This penalty shall be imposed as follows:

1. A candidate's failure to make and file a campaign finance report with a filing officer for a jurisdiction is grounds for that filing officer to refuse the candidate's nomination paper for any public office in that jurisdiction as described in this subsection.

2. A candidate's failure to make and file a campaign finance report with any filing officer is grounds for a filing officer from another jurisdiction to refuse the candidate's nomination paper for any public office on presentation of a certified copy of a final order issued pursuant to section 16‑924.

G. For a standing political committee, in addition to any late penalty and civil penalty assessed pursuant to this section, if the standing political committee makes a late filing three or more times, the standing political committee is no longer eligible for consolidated filing status pursuant to section 16‑913, subsection K and shall make all of its filings in each reporting jurisdiction in which it is active.

H. For any political committee that has failed to file three consecutive campaign finance reports with the filing officer as prescribed by section 16‑913, the filing officer shall send the committee chairman and treasurer a written notice of intent to suspend the political committee. The notice of intent to suspend shall state that failure of the political committee to fully comply with all filing requirements for that committee, including any required payments, within thirty days of the date of the notice shall result in suspension of the political committee's authority to operate in that jurisdiction. On suspension of the political committee's authority to operate, the filing officer is no longer required to provide any further notice of delinquency to the political committee. This subsection does not reduce or eliminate the political committee's continuing obligation to make campaign finance filings and pay any fines, penalties, civil penalties or other sanctions that may continue to accrue as otherwise provided by law. This subsection does not apply to reports required pursuant to article 2 of this chapter or to a candidate's campaign committee designated by that candidate pursuant to section 16‑903 during that election cycle. END_STATUTE

Sec. 21. Section 16-919, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-919. Prohibition of contributions by corporations, limited liability companies or labor organizations; exemption; classification; definitions

A. Except as provided in section 16-914.02, it is unlawful for a corporation or a limited liability company to make an expenditure or any contribution of money or anything of value for the purpose of influencing an election, and it is unlawful for the designating individual who formed an exploratory committee, an exploratory committee, a candidate or a candidate's campaign committee to accept any contribution of money or anything of value from a corporation or a limited liability company for the purpose of influencing an election. This subsection does not apply to political committees that are incorporated pursuant to title 10, chapters 24 through 40 and political committees that are organized as limited liability companies.

B. Except as provided in section 16-914.02, it is unlawful for a labor organization to make an expenditure or any contribution of money or anything of value for the purpose of influencing an election.

C. Notwithstanding subsections A and B of this section, a corporation, limited liability company or labor organization may contribute to an independent expenditure committee.

C. D. A corporation, limited liability company or labor organization that violates this section is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

D. E. The person through whom the violation is effected is guilty of a class 6 felony.

E. F. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, a political committee that is incorporated only for the purposes of liability limitation may make contributions for the purpose of influencing an election. Notwithstanding the corporate status of a political committee, the chairman and treasurer of an incorporated political committee remain personally responsible for carrying out their respective duties under this article.

F. G. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Election" means any election to any political office, any election to any political convention or caucus or any primary election held for the purpose of selecting any candidate, political committee or other person for any political office, convention or caucus.

2. "Employee" includes any employee, is not limited to the employees of a particular employer and includes any individual whose work has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice.

3. "Employer" includes any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly.

4. "Labor organization" means any organization of any kind or any agency or employee representation committee or plan in which employees participate and that exists for the purpose in whole or in part of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment or conditions of work. END_STATUTE

Sec. 22. Section 16-920, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-920. Permitted expenditures by corporations and labor organizations

A. Expenditures for the following purposes shall not be construed to be political contributions prohibited by law:

1. Communications by a corporation to its stockholders and executive or administrative personnel and their families, or by a labor organization to its members and their families, on any subject.

2. Nonpartisan registration and get‑out‑the‑vote campaigns by a corporation aimed at its stockholders and executive or administrative personnel and their families or by a labor organization aimed at its members and their families.

3. The establishment, administration and solicitation of voluntary contributions to a separate segregated fund to be utilized for political purposes by a corporation, labor organization, membership organization, trade association, cooperative or corporation without capital stock.

4. The establishment, administration and solicitation of voluntary contributions from employees of a corporation or limited liability company, including contributions made by payroll deduction, deposit or transfer or other similar method, and that are made directly to a separate segregated fund that is used for political purposes by a trade association of which the employing corporation or limited liability company is a member. Contributions received under this subsection shall be reported pursuant to section 16‑915, subsection A, paragraph 2, subdivision (a) or subsection E.

5. Contributions for use to support or oppose an initiative or referendum measure or amendment to the constitution.

6. Independent expenditures and contributions to independent expenditure committees made pursuant to section 16‑914.02.

B. A membership organization, trade association, cooperative or corporation without capital stock may engage in the activities permitted in subsection A, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this section if such activities are directed toward its members, stockholders or members of its members, its and its members' executive or administrative personnel and their families. END_STATUTE

Sec. 23. Section 16-924, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-924. Civil penalties; attorney general; county, city or town attorney

A. Unless another penalty is specifically prescribed in this article title, if the filing officer for campaign finance reports designated pursuant to section 16‑916, subsection A has reasonable cause to believe that a person is violating any provision of this title, except for violations of chapter 6, article 2, the secretary of state shall notify the attorney general for a violation regarding a statewide office or the legislature, the county officer in charge of elections shall notify the county attorney for that county for a violation regarding a county office or the city or town clerk shall notify the city or town attorney for a violation regarding a city or town office. The attorney general, county attorney or city or town attorney, as appropriate, may serve on the person an order requiring compliance with that provision. The order shall state with reasonable particularity the nature of the violation and shall require compliance within twenty days from the date of issuance of the order. The alleged violator has twenty days from the date of issuance of the order to request a hearing pursuant to title 41, chapter 6.

B. If a person fails to take corrective action within the time specified in the compliance order issued pursuant to subsection A, the attorney general, county attorney or city or town attorney, as appropriate, shall issue an order assessing a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars. The person alleged to have violated the compliance order has thirty days from the date of issuance of the order assessing the civil penalty to request a hearing pursuant to title 41, chapter 6.

C. Any party aggrieved by an order or decision of the attorney general, county attorney or city or town attorney, as appropriate, may appeal to the superior court as provided in title 12, chapter 7, article 6.

D. For the purposes of this section, failure to comply with a compliance order issued by the attorney general, county attorney or city or town attorney, as appropriate, as prescribed in subsection A is deemed an intentional act. END_STATUTE

Sec. 24. Section 19-112, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE19-112. Signatures and verification; attachment; registration of circulators

A. Every qualified elector signing a petition shall do so in the presence of the person who is circulating the petition and who is to execute the affidavit of verification. At the time of signing, the qualified elector shall sign his first and last names in the spaces provided and the elector so signing shall print his first and last names and write, in the appropriate spaces following the signature, the signer's residence address, giving street and number, and if he has no street address, a description of his residence location. The elector so signing shall write, in the appropriate spaces following the elector's address, the date on which the elector signed the petition.

B. The signature sheets shall be attached at all times during circulation to a full and correct copy of the title and text of the measure or constitutional amendment proposed or referred by the petition. The title and text shall be in at least eight point type and shall include both the original and the amended text. The text shall indicate material deleted, if any, by printing the material with a line drawn through the center of the letters of the material and shall indicate material added or new material by printing the letters of the material in capital letters.

C. The person before whom the signatures, names and addresses were written on the signature sheet shall, on the affidavit form pursuant to this section, subscribe and swear before a notary public that each of the names on the sheet was signed and the name and address were printed in the presence of by the elector and the circulator on the date indicated, and that in his belief each signer was a qualified elector of a certain county of the state, or, in the case of a city, town or county measure, of the city, town or county affected by the measure on the date indicated, and that at all times during circulation of the signature sheet a copy of the title and text was attached to the signature sheet. Circulators who are not residents of this state must be registered as circulators with The secretary of state before circulating petitions. The secretary of state shall provide for a method of RECEIVING service of PROCESS for those petition circulators who register pursuant to this subsection. The secretary of state shall ESTABLISH in the instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16-452 a procedure for REGISTERING circulators and receiving service of process. All signatures of petitioners on a signature sheet shall be those of qualified electors who are registered to vote in the same county. However, if signatures from more than one county appear on the same signature sheet, only the valid signatures from the same county which that are most numerous on the signature sheet shall be counted. Signature and handwriting comparisons may be made.

D. The affidavit shall be in the following form printed on the reverse side of each signature sheet:

Affidavit of Circulator

State of Arizona )

) ss.:

County of ___________)

(Where notarized)

I, (print name), a person who is not required to be a resident of this state but who is otherwise qualified to register to vote in the county of _______, in the state of Arizona at all times during my circulation of this petition sheet, and under the penalty of a class 1 misdemeanor, depose and say that subject to section 19‑115, Arizona Revised Statutes, each individual printed the individual's own name and address and signed this sheet of the foregoing petition in my presence on the date indicated and I believe that each signer's name and residence address or post office address are correctly stated and that each signer is a qualified elector of the state of Arizona (or in the case of a city, town or county measure, of the city, town or county affected by the measure proposed to be initiated or referred to the people) and that at all times during circulation of this signature sheet a copy of the title and text was attached to the signature sheet.

(Signature of affiant) ____________________

(Residence address, street

and number of affiant, or

if no street address, a

description of residence

location)

_________________________________

Subscribed and sworn to before me on ____________________.

(date)

__________________________________

Notary Public

___________________________, Arizona.

My commission expires on _________________.

(date)

E. The eight point type required by subsection B shall not apply to maps, charts or other graphics. END_STATUTE

Sec. 25. Section 19-115, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE19-115. Unlawful acts; violations; classification

A. Every qualified elector of the state may sign a referendum or initiative petition upon any measure which he is legally entitled to vote upon.

B. A person who knowingly signing signs any name other than his own to a petition, except in a circumstance where he signs for a person, in the presence of and at the specific request of such a person, who is incapable of signing his own name, or printing his own name and address because of physical infirmity, or who knowingly signing signs his name more than once for the same measure, or proposed constitutional amendment, at one election, or who is not at the time of signing a qualified elector of this state or who knowingly fills out the name and address portion of the petition with the intent to commit fraud, or any officer or person who knowingly violating violates any provision of this chapter, is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor unless another classification is specifically prescribed in this title. END_STATUTE

Sec. 26. Section 19-121.04, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE19-121.04. Disposition of petitions by secretary of state

A. Within seventy-two hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays, after receipt of the facsimile signature sheets and the certification of each county recorder, the secretary of state shall determine the total number of valid signatures by subtracting from the total number of eligible signatures determined pursuant to section 19‑121.01, subsection A, paragraph 6 in the following order:

1. All signatures on petitions containing a defective circulator's affidavit.

2. All signatures that were found ineligible by the county recorders and that were not subtracted pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection.

3. After determining the percentage of all signatures found to be invalid in the random sample, a like percentage from those signatures remaining after the subtractions performed pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 of this subsection.

B. If the actual number of signatures after certification pursuant to subsection C of this section on the remaining sheets after any such subtraction equals or exceeds the minimum number required by the constitution or if the number of valid signatures as projected from the random sample pursuant to subsection A of this section is at least one hundred five per cent of the minimum number required by the constitution, the secretary of state shall issue the following receipt to the person or organization that submitted them:

___________________ signature pages bearing _____________ signatures for initiative (referendum) petition serial number ____ have been refused for filing in this office because the person circulating them was a county recorder or justice of the peace at the time of circulating the petition or due to defects in the circulator's affidavit. A total of ________________ signatures included on the remaining petition sheets were found to be ineligible. Of the total random sample of _______________ signatures, a total of __________ signatures were invalidated by the county recorders resulting in a failure rate of _________ per cent. The actual number of remaining signatures for such initiative (referendum) petition number ________ are equal to or in excess of the minimum required by the constitution to place a measure on the general election ballot. The number of valid signatures filed with this petition, based on the random sample, appears to be at least one hundred five per cent of the minimum required or through examination of each signature has been certified to be greater than the minimum required by the constitution.

Date:_______________________ _______________________________ Secretary of State

(Seal)

The secretary of state shall then forthwith notify the governor that a sufficient number of signatures has been filed and that the initiative or referendum shall be placed on the ballot in the manner provided by law.

C. If the number of valid signatures as projected from the random sample is less than one hundred five but greater than ninety‑five per cent of the minimum number required by the constitution, the secretary of state shall order the examination and verification of each signature filed and shall so notify the county recorders. The county recorder's certification shall be in the form prescribed by the secretary of state.

D. C. If the number of valid signatures as projected from the random sample is less than ninety‑five one hundred per cent of the minimum number required by the constitution or if the actual number of signatures on the remaining sheets after any such subtraction from the random sample or after certification fails to equal or exceed the minimum required by the constitution, the secretary of state shall immediately return the original signature sheets, in the form filed by him under section 19‑121, to the person or organization that submitted them, together with a certified statement that, for the following reasons, the petition lacks the minimum number of signatures to place it on the general election ballot:

1. Signature sheets bearing secretary of state page numbers _________________ and bearing signatures of ____________ persons appeared on petitions containing a defective circulator's affidavit.

2. A total of signatures on the remaining petition sheets were found to be ineligible.

3. A total of signatures included in the random sample have been certified by the county recorders as ineligible at the time such petition was signed and a projection from such random sample has indicated that _____________ more signatures are ineligible to appear on the petition.

A facsimile of the certifications of the county recorders under section 19‑121.02 shall accompany the signature sheets returned to the person or organization that submitted them. END_STATUTE

Sec. 27. Section 38-542, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE38-542. Duty to file financial disclosure statement; contents; exceptions

A. In addition to other statements and reports required by law, every public officer, as a matter of public record, shall file with the secretary of state on a form prescribed by the secretary of state a verified financial disclosure statement covering the preceding calendar year ending December 31. The statement shall disclose:

1. The name and address of the public officer and each member of his household and all names and addresses under which each does business.

2. The name and address of each employer and of each other source of compensation other than gifts amounting to more than one thousand dollars received during the preceding calendar year by the public officer and members of his household in their own names, or by any other person for the use or benefit of the public officer or members of his household, a description of the services for which the compensation was received and the nature of the employer's business. This paragraph shall not be construed to require the disclosure of individual items of compensation that constituted a portion of the gross income of the business from which the public officer or members of his household derived compensation.

3. For a controlled business, a description of the goods or services provided by the business, and if any single source of compensation to the business during the preceding calendar year amounts to more than ten thousand dollars and is more than twenty‑five per cent of the gross income of the business, the disclosure shall also include a description of the goods or services provided to the source of compensation. For a dependent business the statement shall disclose a description of the goods or services provided by the business and a description of the goods or services provided to the source of compensation from which the dependent business derived the amount of gross income described in section 38‑541, paragraph 4. If the source of compensation for a controlled or dependent business is a business, the statement shall disclose a description of the business activities engaged in by the source of compensation.

4. The names and addresses of all businesses and trusts in which the public officer or members of his household, or any other person for the use or benefit of the public officer or members of his household, had an ownership or beneficial interest of over one thousand dollars at any time during the preceding calendar year, and the names and addresses of all businesses and trusts in which the public officer or any member of his household held any office or had a fiduciary relationship at any time during the preceding calendar year, together with the amount or value of the interest and a description of the interest, office or relationship.

5. All Arizona real property interests and real property improvements, including specific location and approximate size, in which the public officer, any member of his household or a controlled or dependent business held legal title or a beneficial interest at any time during the preceding calendar year, and the value of any such interest, except that this paragraph does not apply to a real property interest and improvements thereon used as the primary personal residence or for the personal recreational use of the public officer. If a public officer, any member of his household or a controlled or dependent business acquired or divested any such interest during the preceding calendar year, he shall also disclose that the transaction was made and the date it occurred. If the controlled or dependent business is in the business of dealing in real property interests or improvements, disclosure need not include individual parcels or transactions as long as the aggregate value of all parcels of such property is reported.

6. The names and addresses of all creditors to whom the public officer or members of his household, in their own names or in the name of any other person, owed a debt of more than one thousand dollars or to whom a controlled business or a dependent business owed a debt of more than ten thousand dollars which was also more than thirty per cent of the total business indebtedness at any time during the preceding calendar year, listing each such creditor. This paragraph shall not be construed to require the disclosure of debts owed by the public officer or any member of his household resulting from the ordinary conduct of a business other than a controlled or dependent business. nor shall disclosure be required of credit card transactions, retail installment contracts, debts on residences or recreational property exempt from disclosure under paragraph 5 of this subsection, debts on motor vehicles not used for commercial purposes, debts secured by cash values on life insurance or debts owed to relatives. It is sufficient disclosure of a creditor if the name and address of a person to whom payments are made is disclosed. If the public officer, any member of his household or a controlled or dependent business incurred or discharged a debt which is reportable under this subsection during the preceding calendar year, the report shall disclose that the transaction was made and the date it occurred.

7. The identification and amount of each debt exceeding one thousand dollars owed at any time during the preceding calendar year to the public officer and members of his household in their own names, or to any other person for the use or benefit of the public officer or any member of his household. The disclosure shall include the identification and amount of each debt exceeding ten thousand dollars to a controlled business or dependent business which was also more than thirty per cent of the total indebtedness to the business at any time during the preceding calendar year. This paragraph shall not be construed to require the disclosure of debts from the ordinary conduct of a business other than a controlled or dependent business. If the public officer, any member of his household or a controlled or dependent business incurred or discharged a debt which is reportable under this subsection during the preceding year, the report shall disclose that the transaction was made and the date it occurred.

8. The name of each source of any gift, or accumulated gifts from a single source, of more than five hundred dollars received by the public officer and members of his household in their own names during the preceding calendar year, or by any other person for the use or benefit of the public officer or any member of his household except gifts received by will or by virtue of intestate succession, or received by way of distribution from any inter vivos or testamentary trust established by a spouse or by an ancestor, or gifts received from any other member of the household or relatives to the second degree of consanguinity. Political campaign contributions shall not be construed as gifts if otherwise publicly reported as political campaign contributions as required by law.

9. A list of all business licenses issued to, held by or in which the public officer or any member of his household had an interest at any time during the preceding calendar year, including the name in which the license was issued, the type of business and its location.

10. A list of all bonds, together with their value, issued by this state or any political subdivision of this state and held at any time during the preceding calendar year by the public officer or any member of his household, which bonds issued by a single entity had a value in excess of one thousand dollars. If the public officer or any member of his household acquired or divested any bonds during the preceding calendar year which are reportable under this paragraph, the fact that the transaction occurred and the date shall also be shown.

B. If an amount or value is required to be reported pursuant to this section, it is sufficient to report whether the amount or value of the equity interest falls within:

1. Category 1, one thousand dollars to twenty‑five thousand dollars.

2. Category 2, more than twenty‑five thousand dollars to one hundred thousand dollars.

3. Category 3, more than one hundred thousand dollars.

C. This section does not require the disclosure of any information that is privileged by law.

D. The statement required to be filed pursuant to subsection A shall be filed by all persons who qualified as public officers at any time during the preceding calendar year on or before January 31 of each year with the exceptions that a public officer appointed to fill a vacancy shall, within sixty days following his taking of such office, file a financial disclosure statement covering as his annual period the twelve month period ending with the last full month prior to the date of his taking office, and a public officer whose final term expires less than thirty‑one days into the immediately following calendar year may file the public officer's final financial disclosure at the same time as the disclosure for the last immediately preceding year.

E. The secretary of state shall prepare written guidelines, forms and samples for completing the financial disclosure statement required by this section. A copy of the guidelines, forms and samples shall be distributed to each public officer and shall be made available to each candidate required to file a financial disclosure statement pursuant to section 38‑543. END_STATUTE

Sec. 28. Scanned ballot election auditing pilot program; secretary of state; proposals; report; delayed repeal

A. In cooperation with one or more county boards of supervisors or other political subdivisions, the secretary of state may establish a scanned ballot election auditing pilot program to audit and analyze ballot scanning and tabulating equipment for the purpose of investigating or developing postelection audit systems for use on a broad, election-wide basis. The pilot program may include analytical assistance from one or more of the universities under the direction of the Arizona board of regents.

B. Notwithstanding section 16-624, Arizona Revised Statutes:

1. On request, a county treasurer shall release ballots to the custody of the secretary of state for the purposes of the pilot program.

2. On approval of a governing body, the pilot program may be used to audit the results of a live election for a special taxing district or for another other local election. Ballots and software used in the pilot program are not public records and are not subject to title 39, Arizona Revised Statutes.

C. In cooperation with one or more county boards of supervisors, the secretary of state shall solicit proposals for an auditing pilot program from entities with ballot scanning capabilities. Proposals for an auditing pilot program are not subject to procurement pursuant to title 41, chapter 23, Arizona Revised Statutes, but the secretary of state shall solicit at least three proposals. The secretary of state may coordinate and work with election officials in other jurisdictions if a federal program or project on scanned ballots audit procedures is established.

D. The secretary of state shall prepare and publish a report on the results of the pilot program no later than December 31, 2014.

E. This section is repealed from and after March 19, 2015.

Sec. 29. Secretary of state; multijurisdictional database; restriction; delayed repeal

A. Notwithstanding any other law, the secretary of state may enter into one or more agreements with other states for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a multijurisdictional database of voter registrants.

B. The database shall be established and used for the purpose of locating and evaluating potentially duplicate voter registrations from different jurisdictions and for ensuring that this state's voter registration database contains the best and most accurate information possible. The other states that participate by agreement in the multijurisdictional database shall maintain a system of database security that is at least as stringent as that maintained by this state. By agreement among the states, information contained in the database shall not be sold or released to any person other than persons acting in their official election‑related capacity as otherwise provided by law and persons employed by the states for the purposes of conducting the activities authorized by this section.

C. This section is repealed from and after August 31, 2015.

Sec. 30. 2012 legislative candidates; secretary of state; nomination papers and petitions; nomination signatures

Notwithstanding any other law, for candidates for election in 2012 to the legislature, the following apply:

1. If the nomination paper and nomination petition are in compliance with otherwise applicable law, the secretary of state shall accept as a valid filing the nomination paper and nomination petition of a person that designates a legislative district for that person's candidacy and that use any or all of the following:

(a) A legislative district number as used in the 2010 elections.

(b) A legislative district as denominated in a redistricting plan adopted by the independent redistricting commission.

(c) A legislative district as denominated in a redistricting plan that is precleared by the United States department of justice.

2. If the candidate nomination petition and the petition signers are in compliance with otherwise applicable law, the secretary of state shall accept and petition signers are valid if the petition signers are registered voters who are residents of any or all of the following districts that the candidate proposes to represent:

(a) A legislative district as used in the 2010 elections.

(b) A legislative district as denominated in a redistricting plan adopted by the independent redistricting commission.

(c) A legislative district as denominated in a redistricting plan that is precleared by the United States department of justice.

Sec. 31. Elections training classes; statement; water; registration form

Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation, from and after January 1, 2011 the secretary of state's office may provide bottled water at any election training class if the election training class registration form clearly states that a portion of the registration fee will be used for hydration.

Sec. 32. Secretary of state; secure petition process pilot program; delayed repeal

A. Subject to the requirements of article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, notwithstanding any other law, the secretary of state may establish a method for registered voters to sign a nomination petition and a citizens clean elections five dollar donation qualification form for a candidate by way of a secure internet portal for petitions for statewide and legislative offices. The method established shall ensure that only those registered voters who are eligible to sign petitions for that particular candidate may sign the petitions and qualification forms for a candidate and shall provide a method for the registered voter's identity to be properly verified. No more than fifty per cent of the required number of signatures may be acquired from the process established pursuant to this section.

B. This section is repealed from and after December 31, 2014.

Sec. 33. Requirements for enactment; three-fourths vote

Pursuant to article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 32 of this act, relating to the secure petition process pilot program, is effective only on the affirmative vote of at least three-fourths of the members of each house of the legislature.