SB1512 - 502R

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

Section 1. Section 16-447, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-447. Voting devices; inspection; specifications and number of booths

A. Beginning on January 1, 2006, the board of supervisors shall provide at each polling place at least one device that complies with the help America vote act of 2002 (P.L. 107‑252) and that is certified by the secretary of state for use by voters with disabilities.

B. Before any election at which electronic voting devices are used, the board of supervisors or other authority in charge of elections shall have the voting devices prepared for the election and shall mail a notice to the chairmen of the county committees of the different political parties, stating when and where the voting devices may be inspected before they are sealed and delivered to the polling places.

C. The board of supervisors or other authority in charge of elections shall have delivered to each polling place a sufficient number of voting booths and voting or marking devices. The voting booths shall be durably constructed and shall be of sufficient size and so designed as to enable the voter to mark the voter's ballot in secrecy.

D. In any election, the election officer in charge of the election shall determine the number of voting devices to be used.

E. The board of supervisors shall designate a person to observe the installation and modification of any election management software or computer programming used for county election administration. The board of supervisors shall also designate a person to act as a substitute if the primary designee is unavailable. The persons designated may be county employees but may not be employed by or under the supervision of the officer in charge of elections. The board of supervisors also shall notify the chairmen of the county committees of the different political parties regarding the date, time and place of the installation or modification and shall permit the observation of the installation and modification of the software or programming by the designated observers of the political parties. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 16-449, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-449. Required test of equipment and programs; notice; procedures manual; county accuracy certification boards

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 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.

D. The officer in charge of elections in each county shall establish a county accuracy certification board. Not later than sixty days before any special, presidential preference, primary or general election, each chairman of a recognized political party shall designate in writing to the officer in charge of elections at least one representative to serve on the county accuracy certification board. The designation by the political parties may be for a stated term. The members of the county accuracy certification board shall also serve as the designated political party representatives for logic and accuracy testing of election equipment and systems and for observation of ballot tabulation as prescribed in section 16-621.

E. After the completion of tabulation of all valid ballots cast in the election, the county accuracy certification board shall test all central count tabulation machines or other machines used to tabulate early and provisional ballots in the same manner prescribed in this section. At the conclusion of a successful test, the county accuracy certification board and officer in charge of elections shall sign a certification that the tested election machines functioned properly and reported results accurately. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 16-464, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-464. Rotation of names on ballots

A. When there are two or more candidates for a nomination, except in the case of precinct committeemen, the names of all candidates for the nomination shall be so alternated upon the ballots used in each election precinct that the name of each candidate shall appear substantially an equal number of times at the top, at the bottom and in each intermediate place of the list or group of candidates in which they belong. When there are fewer than or the same number of candidates seeking office as the number to be elected, rotation of names is not required and the names shall be placed in alphabetical order.

B. The position of the names of candidates for precinct committeemen shall be drawn by lot for appearance on the ballot when there are more candidates than positions available. Such drawing shall take place at a public meeting called by the board of supervisors for that purpose.

C. In elections in which paper ballots are used, the ballots shall be printed and bound so that every ballot in the bound blocks shall have the names in a different and alternating position from the preceding ballot.

D. The provisions of this section shall not be applied where voting machines are used.

C. If it is not practicable to rotate the names of the candidates on the ballots used in any one precinct, the officer in charge of elections may rotate names on ballots and ballot screens that are to be used in different precincts or polling locations so that the name of each candidate appears a substantially equivalent number of times in each position in the appropriate list or group of candidates throughout the jurisdiction, when considered as a whole. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. 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. In addition, the election official may provide for provisional ballots to be printed with a distinctive precinct or polling location number or other identification that would prevent the provisional ballot from being accepted and counted in the precinct or polling location voting machine, if the additional material does not interfere with the ballot being properly tabulated after verification as prescribed by section 16-584. 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. President and vice-president. The indicator for the selection of a candidate shall be next to the name of the candidate for president, and the vice‑presidential candidate's name shall be listed immediately below that of the presidential candidate.

2. Presidential electors.

3. United States senator.

4. Representatives in Congress.

5. The several state offices.

6. 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 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, 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. 5. Conforming legislation

The legislative council staff shall prepare proposed legislation conforming the Arizona Revised Statutes to the provisions of this act for consideration in the fifty-first legislature, first regular session.