SB1080 - 522R

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

Section 1. Section 16-543.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-543.02. Federal write‑in early ballots; procedure; registration form

A. An overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act of 1986 (P.L. 99‑410; 42 52 United States Code section 1973ff-6 20310), as amended by the Ronald W. Reagan national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2005 (P.L. 108‑375), who is absent from the place of residence in this state where the voter is otherwise qualified to vote may use a federal write‑in early ballot in a primary, general or special election for the offices of presidential elector and United States senator and representative in Congress if the voter applies for an early ballot by 7:00 p.m. on election day and does not receive that early ballot.

B. A federal write‑in early ballot of an overseas voter shall not be counted if either of the following conditions is met:

1. The application of the overseas voter for an early ballot is received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections after 7:00 p.m. on election day.

2. An early ballot from the overseas voter is received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections by 7:00 p.m. on election day or is postmarked by united states mail by the election day.

C. An overseas voter who completes a federal write‑in early ballot may designate a candidate by writing in the name of the candidate or by writing in the name of a political party, in which case the ballot shall be counted for the candidate of that political party. In the case of the offices of president and vice‑president, a vote for a named candidate or in the name of the political party shall be counted as a vote for that candidate's or party's presidential electors. Any abbreviation, misspelling or other minor variation in the form of the name of a candidate or political party shall be disregarded in determining the validity of the ballot if the intention of the voter can be ascertained.

D. For an overseas voter who completes a federal write-in early ballot transmission envelope with the federal write-in early ballot request, the transmission envelope shall serve as a voter registration form and the voter is registered to vote on completion and receipt of the transmission envelope and the federal write-in early ballot if all of the following apply:

1. The information submitted on the transmission envelope includes the information prescribed in section 16‑121.01.

2. The voter is otherwise eligible to register and vote in this state.

3. The request is received by the county recorder by 7:00 p.m. on election day.

E. For any request received after 7:00 p.m. on election day, an otherwise valid transmission envelope constitutes a voter registration form that is valid for any subsequent election. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 16-547, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-547. Ballot affidavit; form

A. The early ballot shall be accompanied by an envelope bearing on the front the name, official title and post office address of the recorder or other officer in charge of elections and on the other side a printed affidavit in substantially the following form:

I declare the following under penalty of perjury: I am a registered voter in ___________ county Arizona, I have not voted and will not vote in this election in any other county or state, I understand that knowingly voting more than once in any election is a class 5 felony and I voted the enclosed ballot and signed this affidavit personally unless noted below.

If the voter was assisted by another person in marking the ballot, complete the following:

I declare the following under penalty of perjury: At the registered voter's request I assisted the voter identified in this affidavit with marking the voter's ballot, I marked the ballot as directly instructed by the voter, I provided the assistance because the voter was physically unable to mark the ballot solely due to illness, injury or physical limitation and I understand that there is no power of attorney for voting and that the voter must be able to make their selection even if they cannot physically mark the ballot.

Name of voter assistant: _____________________________

Address of voter assistant: __________________________

B. The face of each envelope in which a ballot is sent to a federal postcard applicant or in which a ballot is returned by such the applicant to the recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall be in the form prescribed in accordance with the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act of 1986 (P.L. 99‑410; 42 52 United States Code section 1973ff 20301). Otherwise, the envelopes shall be the same as those used to send ballots to, or receive ballots from, other early voters.

C. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall supply printed instructions to early voters that direct them to sign the affidavit, mark the ballot and return both in the enclosed self‑addressed envelope that complies with section 16-545. The instructions shall include the following statement:

In order to be valid and counted, the ballot and affidavit must be delivered to the office of the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections, or may be deposited at any polling place in the county no later than 7:00 p.m. on election day or is postmarked by United States mail by the election day.

WARNING-It is a felony to offer or receive any compensation for a ballot. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 16-548, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-548. Preparation and transmission of ballot

A. The early voter shall make and sign the affidavit and shall then mark his ballot in such a manner that his vote cannot be seen. The early voter shall fold the ballot, if a paper ballot, so as to conceal the vote and deposit the voted ballot in the envelope provided for that purpose, which shall be securely sealed and, together with the affidavit, delivered or mailed to the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections of the political subdivision in which the elector is registered or deposited by the voter or the voter's agent at any polling place in the county. In order to be counted and valid, the ballot must be received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections, or deposited at any polling place in the county no later than 7:00 p.m. on election day or is postmarked by United States mail by the election day.

B. If the early voter is an overseas citizen, a qualified elector absent from the United States or in the United States service, a spouse or dependent residing with the early voter or a qualified elector of a special district mail ballot election as provided in article 8.1 of this chapter, the early voter may subscribe to the affidavit before and obtain the signature and military identification number or passport number, if available, of any person who is a United States citizen eighteen years of age or older.END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 16-551, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-551. Early election board; violation; classification

A. The board of supervisors or the governing body of the political subdivision shall appoint one or more early election boards to serve at places to be designated by the board of supervisors or the governing body to canvass and tally early election ballots. Members of early election boards shall be selected in accordance with the provisions for selecting members of regular election boards as provided in section 16‑531.

B. If an electronic voting system is in use for early voting, the early election board shall consist of at least one inspector and two judges who shall perform the processing requirements in accordance with the rules issued by the secretary of state. The inspector and judges shall be appointed in the same manner by party as provided in section 16‑531.

C. All early ballots received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections before 7:00 p.m. on election day or is postmarked by United States mail by the election day and the original affidavit of the voter shall be delivered to the early election boards for processing as provided in the rules of the secretary of state. The office of the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall remain open until 7:00 p.m. on election day for the purpose of receiving early ballots. In no event shall partial or complete tallies of the early election board be released or divulged before all precincts have reported or one hour after the closing of the polls on election day, whichever occurs first, and any person who unlawfully releases information regarding vote tallies or who possesses a tally sheet or summary without authorization from the recorder or officer in charge of elections is guilty of a class 6 felony.

D. The necessary printed blanks for poll lists, tally lists, lists of voters, ballots, oaths and returns, together with envelopes in which to enclose the returns, shall be furnished by the board of supervisors or the governing body of the political subdivision to the early election board for each election precinct at the expense of the county or the political subdivision. END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Section 16-558.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-558.01. Mailing of ballots

Not more than twenty‑seven days before the election and not fewer than fifteen days before the election, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections for the special district shall send by nonforwardable mail all official ballots with printed instructions and a return envelope bearing a printed ballot affidavit as described in section 16‑547 to each qualified elector entitled to vote in the election. The envelope in which the ballot is mailed shall be clearly marked with the statement required by the postmaster to receive an address correction and notification. The district governing board shall determine whether the voter or the district governing board will pay for the postage for the return of electors' marked ballots. An elector who votes in a special district mail ballot election shall return the elector's marked ballot to the recorder or other officer in charge of the election or to a designated depository site as provided in section 16‑411 no not later than 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election or shall return the marked ballot in an envelope that is postmarked by United States mail not later than the day of the election. END_STATUTE