Page 1, between lines 1 and 2, insert:
"Section 1. Section 16-248, Arizona
Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE16-248. Designation of polling places; electioneering
A. Not less than twenty days before a presidential
preference election, the board of supervisors shall designate a reasonable and
adequate number of polling places where the election shall be held.
B. The number of polling places for the presidential
preference election is to be determined according to the number of active registered
voters as of January 1 of the year of the presidential preference election.
C. Each
county with one million or more active registered voters shall determine the
number of polling places for the presidential preference election by using at
least one polling place for every one thousand seven hundred ACTIVE registered
voters who are not on the permanent early voting list PRESCRIBED by section
16-544 and who are eligible to participate in the presidential preference
election as determined as of January 1 of the year of the presidential
preference election.
C. D. Each county with less than one million active registered
voters but two hundred thousand or more active registered voters
shall determine the number of polling places for the presidential preference
election by using no more than one‑half of the number of precincts as of
January 1 of the year of the presidential preference election.
D. E. Each county with
less than two hundred thousand active registered voters but ten thousand or
more active registered voters shall determine the number of polling places for
the presidential preference election by using no more than one polling place
for every two thousand active registered voters as of January 1 of the year of
the presidential preference primary.
E. F. Each county with
less than ten thousand active registered voters shall determine the number of
polling places for the presidential preference election by using no more than
one polling place for every one thousand active registered voters as of January
1 of the year of the presidential preference election.
G. Except in
the case of an emergency, any facility that is used as a polling place or a
voting center shall allow persons to electioneer and engage in other political
activity including the posting of political signs as defined in section 16‑1019.
a county recorder or other officer in charge of elections may designate a
polling place for a presidential preference election as an emergency polling
place and thus prohibit persons from electioneering and engaging in other
political activity, including the posting of political signs as defined in
section 16-1019 outside of the seventy-five foot limit prescribed by section 16‑515
but inside the property of the facility that is hosting the polling place, if
any of the following occurs:
1. An act of
god renders a previously set polling place as unusable.
2. A county
recorder or other officer in charge of elections has exhausted all options and
there are no suitable facilities in a precinct that are willing to be a polling
place unless a facility can be given an emergency designation.
F. H. If it is
determined by the secretary of state that compliance with state and federal
regulations would be jeopardized, the secretary of state has the authority to
release a county from the number of polling places prescribed by this section.
G. I. This section does
not apply to land located on an Indian reservation.
H. J. In precincts that
contain fewer than three hundred active registered voters, the officer in
charge of elections may conduct a presidential preference election by mail.END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 16-411, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE16-411. Designation of election precincts and polling places;
voting centers; 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.
The 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 that 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. The 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.
4. On a specific resolution of the board, the board
may authorize the use of voting centers in place of or in addition to
specifically designated polling places. A voting center shall allow
any voter in that county to receive the appropriate ballot for that voter on election
day and lawfully cast the ballot. Voting centers may be established
in coordination and consultation with the county recorder, at other county
offices or at other locations in the county deemed appropriate.
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, including
the posting of political signs as defined in section 16-1019, 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. The county recorder or other
officer in charge of elections shall post on its website at least two weeks
before election day a list of those polling places in which emergency
conditions prevent electioneering and shall specify the reason the emergency
designation was granted and the number of attempts that were made to find a
polling place before granting an emergency designation. If the polling place is
not on the website list of polling places with emergency designations,
electioneering and other political activity, including
the posting of political signs as defined in section 16-1019, shall
be permitted outside of the seventy‑five foot limit. If an emergency
arises after the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections'
initial website posting, the county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall update the website as soon as is practicable to include any new
polling places, shall highlight the polling place location on the website and
shall specify the reason the emergency designation was granted and the number
of attempts that were made to find a polling place before granting an emergency
designation.
I. For the purposes of this section, a county
recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall designate a polling
place as an emergency polling place and thus prohibit persons from
electioneering and engaging in other political activity, including
the posting of political signs as defined in section 16-1019, outside
of the seventy-five foot limit prescribed by section 16‑515 but inside
the property of the facility that is hosting the polling place if any of the
following occurs:
1. An act of god renders a previously set polling
place as unusable.
2. A county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections has exhausted all options and there are no suitable facilities in a
precinct that are willing to be a polling place unless a facility can be given
an emergency designation.
J. 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.
K. 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
Renumber to conform
Amend title to conform
Bill
Number: H.B. 2017